Sparaciari, Carlo; Paris, Matteo G. A.
2013-01-01
We address measurement schemes where certain observables Xk are chosen at random within a set of nondegenerate isospectral observables and then measured on repeated preparations of a physical system. Each observable has a probability zk to be measured, with ∑kzk=1, and the statistics of this generalized measurement is described by a positive operator-valued measure. This kind of scheme is referred to as quantum roulettes, since each observable Xk is chosen at random, e.g., according to the fluctuating value of an external parameter. Here we focus on quantum roulettes for qubits involving the measurements of Pauli matrices, and we explicitly evaluate their canonical Naimark extensions, i.e., their implementation as indirect measurements involving an interaction scheme with a probe system. We thus provide a concrete model to realize the roulette without destroying the signal state, which can be measured again after the measurement or can be transmitted. Finally, we apply our results to the description of Stern-Gerlach-like experiments on a two-level system.
The signature of positive selection at randomly chosen loci.
Przeworski, Molly
2002-03-01
In Drosophila and humans, there are accumulating examples of loci with a significant excess of high-frequency-derived alleles or high levels of linkage disequilibrium, relative to a neutral model of a random-mating population of constant size. These are features expected after a recent selective sweep. Their prevalence suggests that positive directional selection may be widespread in both species. However, as I show here, these features do not persist long after the sweep ends: The high-frequency alleles drift to fixation and no longer contribute to polymorphism, while linkage disequilibrium is broken down by recombination. As a result, loci chosen without independent evidence of recent selection are not expected to exhibit either of these features, even if they have been affected by numerous sweeps in their genealogical history. How then can we explain the patterns in the data? One possibility is population structure, with unequal sampling from different subpopulations. Alternatively, positive selection may not operate as is commonly modeled. In particular, the rate of fixation of advantageous mutations may have increased in the recent past.
Random-subset fitting of digital holograms for fast three-dimensional particle tracking [invited].
Dimiduk, Thomas G; Perry, Rebecca W; Fung, Jerome; Manoharan, Vinothan N
2014-09-20
Fitting scattering solutions to time series of digital holograms is a precise way to measure three-dimensional dynamics of microscale objects such as colloidal particles. However, this inverse-problem approach is computationally expensive. We show that the computational time can be reduced by an order of magnitude or more by fitting to a random subset of the pixels in a hologram. We demonstrate our algorithm on experimentally measured holograms of micrometer-scale colloidal particles, and we show that 20-fold increases in speed, relative to fitting full frames, can be attained while introducing errors in the particle positions of 10 nm or less. The method is straightforward to implement and works for any scattering model. It also enables a parallelization strategy wherein random-subset fitting is used to quickly determine initial guesses that are subsequently used to fit full frames in parallel. This approach may prove particularly useful for studying rare events, such as nucleation, that can only be captured with high frame rates over long times.
Probabilistic quantum cloning of a subset of linearly dependent states
Rui, Pinshu; Zhang, Wen; Liao, Yanlin; Zhang, Ziyun
2018-02-01
It is well known that a quantum state, secretly chosen from a certain set, can be probabilistically cloned with positive cloning efficiencies if and only if all the states in the set are linearly independent. In this paper, we focus on probabilistic quantum cloning of a subset of linearly dependent states. We show that a linearly-independent subset of linearly-dependent quantum states {| Ψ 1⟩,| Ψ 2⟩,…,| Ψ n ⟩} can be probabilistically cloned if and only if any state in the subset cannot be expressed as a linear superposition of the other states in the set {| Ψ 1⟩,| Ψ 2⟩,…,| Ψ n ⟩}. The optimal cloning efficiencies are also investigated.
Optimization of the Dutch Matrix Test by Random Selection of Sentences From a Preselected Subset
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Rolph Houben
2015-04-01
Full Text Available Matrix tests are available for speech recognition testing in many languages. For an accurate measurement, a steep psychometric function of the speech materials is required. For existing tests, it would be beneficial if it were possible to further optimize the available materials by increasing the function’s steepness. The objective is to show if the steepness of the psychometric function of an existing matrix test can be increased by selecting a homogeneous subset of recordings with the steepest sentence-based psychometric functions. We took data from a previous multicenter evaluation of the Dutch matrix test (45 normal-hearing listeners. Based on half of the data set, first the sentences (140 out of 311 with a similar speech reception threshold and with the steepest psychometric function (≥9.7%/dB were selected. Subsequently, the steepness of the psychometric function for this selection was calculated from the remaining (unused second half of the data set. The calculation showed that the slope increased from 10.2%/dB to 13.7%/dB. The resulting subset did not allow the construction of enough balanced test lists. Therefore, the measurement procedure was changed to randomly select the sentences during testing. Random selection may interfere with a representative occurrence of phonemes. However, in our material, the median phonemic occurrence remained close to that of the original test. This finding indicates that phonemic occurrence is not a critical factor. The work highlights the possibility that existing speech tests might be improved by selecting sentences with a steep psychometric function.
Distributional and efficiency results for subset selection
Laan, van der P.
1996-01-01
Assume k (??k \\geq 2) populations are given. The associated independent random variables have continuous distribution functions with an unknown location parameter. The statistical selec??tion goal is to select a non??empty subset which contains the best population,?? that is the pop??ulation with
Chosen Ciphertext Security with Optimal Ciphertext Overhead
Abe, Masayuki; Kiltz, Eike; Okamoto, Tatsuaki
Every public-key encryption scheme has to incorporate a certain amount of randomness into its ciphertexts to provide semantic security against chosen ciphertext attacks (IND-CCA). The difference between the length of a ciphertext and the embedded message is called the ciphertext overhead. While a generic brute-force adversary running in 2t steps gives a theoretical lower bound of t bits on the ciphertext overhead for IND-CPA security, the best known IND-CCA secure schemes demand roughly 2t bits even in the random oracle model. Is the t-bit gap essential for achieving IND-CCA security? We close the gap by proposing an IND-CCA secure scheme whose ciphertext overhead matches the generic lower bound up to a small constant. Our scheme uses a variation of a four-round Feistel network in the random oracle model and hence belongs to the family of OAEP-based schemes. Maybe of independent interest is a new efficient method to encrypt long messages exceeding the length of the permutation while retaining the minimal overhead.
The signature of positive selection at randomly chosen loci.
Przeworski, Molly
2002-01-01
In Drosophila and humans, there are accumulating examples of loci with a significant excess of high-frequency-derived alleles or high levels of linkage disequilibrium, relative to a neutral model of a random-mating population of constant size. These are features expected after a recent selective sweep. Their prevalence suggests that positive directional selection may be widespread in both species. However, as I show here, these features do not persist long after the sweep ends: The high-frequ...
Prediction based on mean subset
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Øjelund, Henrik; Brown, P. J.; Madsen, Henrik
2002-01-01
, it is found that the proposed mean subset method has superior prediction performance than prediction based on the best subset method, and in some settings also better than the ridge regression and lasso methods. The conclusions drawn from the Monte Carlo study is corroborated in an example in which prediction......Shrinkage methods have traditionally been applied in prediction problems. In this article we develop a shrinkage method (mean subset) that forms an average of regression coefficients from individual subsets of the explanatory variables. A Bayesian approach is taken to derive an expression of how...... the coefficient vectors from each subset should be weighted. It is not computationally feasible to calculate the mean subset coefficient vector for larger problems, and thus we suggest an algorithm to find an approximation to the mean subset coefficient vector. In a comprehensive Monte Carlo simulation study...
Cai, Jun; Wang, Hua; Zhou, Sheng; Wu, Bin; Song, Hua-Rong; Xuan, Zheng-Rong
2008-01-01
To observe the effect of perioperative application of Sijunzi Decoction and enteral nutrition on T-cell subsets and nutritional status in patients with gastric cancer after operation. In this prospective, single-blinded, controlled clinical trial, fifty-nine patients with gastric cancer were randomly divided into three groups: control group (n=20) and two study groups (group A, n=21; group B, n=18). Sjunzi Decoction (100 ml) was administered via nasogastric tube to the patients in the study group B from the second postoperation day to the 9th postoperation day. Patients in the two study groups were given an isocaloric and isonitrogonous enteral diet, which was started on the second day after operation, and continued for eight days. Patients in the control group were given an isocaloric and isonitrogonous parenteral diet for 9 days. All variables of nutritional status such as serum albumin (ALB), prealbumin (PA), transferrin (TRF) and T-cell subsets were measured one day before operation, and one day and 10 days after operation. All the nutritional variables and the levels of CD3(+), CD4(+), CD4(+)/CD8(+) were decreased significantly after operation. Ten days after operation, T-cell subsets and nutritional variables in the two study groups were increased as compare with the control group. The levels of ALB, TRF and T-cell subsets in the study group B were increased significantly as compared with the study group A (Pnutrition assisted with Sijunzi Decoction can positively improve and optimize cellular immune function and nutritional status in the patients with gastric cancer after operation.
There is a need for new systemic sclerosis subset criteria. A content analytic approach.
Johnson, S R; Soowamber, M L; Fransen, J; Khanna, D; Van Den Hoogen, F; Baron, M; Matucci-Cerinic, M; Denton, C P; Medsger, T A; Carreira, P E; Riemekasten, G; Distler, J; Gabrielli, A; Steen, V; Chung, L; Silver, R; Varga, J; Müller-Ladner, U; Vonk, M C; Walker, U A; Wollheim, F A; Herrick, A; Furst, D E; Czirjak, L; Kowal-Bielecka, O; Del Galdo, F; Cutolo, M; Hunzelmann, N; Murray, C D; Foeldvari, I; Mouthon, L; Damjanov, N; Kahaleh, B; Frech, T; Assassi, S; Saketkoo, L A; Pope, J E
2018-01-01
Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is heterogenous. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the purpose, strengths and limitations of existing SSc subset criteria, and identify ideas among experts about subsets. We conducted semi-structured interviews with randomly sampled international SSc experts. The interview transcripts underwent an iterative process with text deconstructed to single thought units until a saturated conceptual framework with coding was achieved and respondent occurrence tabulated. Serial cross-referential analyses of clusters were developed. Thirty experts from 13 countries were included; 67% were male, 63% were from Europe and 37% from North America; median experience of 22.5 years, with a median of 55 new SSc patients annually. Three thematic clusters regarding subsetting were identified: research and communication; management; and prognosis (prediction of internal organ involvement, survival). The strength of the limited/diffuse system was its ease of use, however 10% stated this system had marginal value. Shortcomings of the diffuse/limited classification were the risk of misclassification, predictions/generalizations did not always hold true, and that the elbow or knee threshold was arbitrary. Eighty-seven percent use more than 2 subsets including: SSc sine scleroderma, overlap conditions, antibody-determined subsets, speed of progression, and age of onset (juvenile, elderly). We have synthesized an international view of the construct of SSc subsets in the modern era. We found a number of factors underlying the construct of SSc subsets. Considerations for the next phase include rate of change and hierarchal clustering (e.g. limited/diffuse, then by antibodies).
Pan, B.
2016-03-22
Subset-based local and finite-element-based (FE-based) global digital image correlation (DIC) approaches are the two primary image matching algorithms widely used for full-field displacement mapping. Very recently, the performances of these different DIC approaches have been experimentally investigated using numerical and real-world experimental tests. The results have shown that in typical cases, where the subset (element) size is no less than a few pixels and the local deformation within a subset (element) can be well approximated by the adopted shape functions, the subset-based local DIC outperforms FE-based global DIC approaches because the former provides slightly smaller root-mean-square errors and offers much higher computation efficiency. Here we investigate the theoretical origin and lay a solid theoretical basis for the previous comparison. We assume that systematic errors due to imperfect intensity interpolation and undermatched shape functions are negligibly small, and perform a theoretical analysis of the random errors or standard deviation (SD) errors in the displacements measured by two local DIC approaches (i.e., a subset-based local DIC and an element-based local DIC) and two FE-based global DIC approaches (i.e., Q4-DIC and Q8-DIC). The equations that govern the random errors in the displacements measured by these local and global DIC approaches are theoretically derived. The correctness of the theoretically predicted SD errors is validated through numerical translation tests under various noise levels. We demonstrate that the SD errors induced by the Q4-element-based local DIC, the global Q4-DIC and the global Q8-DIC are 4, 1.8-2.2 and 1.2-1.6 times greater, respectively, than that associated with the subset-based local DIC, which is consistent with our conclusions from previous work. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Subset Selection by Local Convex Approximation
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Øjelund, Henrik; Sadegh, Payman; Madsen, Henrik
1999-01-01
This paper concerns selection of the optimal subset of variables in a lenear regression setting. The posed problem is combinatiorial and the globally best subset can only be found in exponential time. We define a cost function for the subset selection problem by adding the penalty term to the usual...... of the subset selection problem so as to guarantee positive definiteness of the Hessian term, hence avoiding numerical instability. The backward Elemination type algorithm attempts to improve the results upon termination of the modified Newton-Raphson search by sing the current solution as an initial guess...
Unsupervised Feature Subset Selection
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Søndberg-Madsen, Nicolaj; Thomsen, C.; Pena, Jose
2003-01-01
This paper studies filter and hybrid filter-wrapper feature subset selection for unsupervised learning (data clustering). We constrain the search for the best feature subset by scoring the dependence of every feature on the rest of the features, conjecturing that these scores discriminate some ir...... irrelevant features. We report experimental results on artificial and real data for unsupervised learning of naive Bayes models. Both the filter and hybrid approaches perform satisfactorily....
Chosen-Prefix Collisions for MD5 and Applications
M.M.J. Stevens (Marc); A.K. Lenstra (Arjen); B. de Weger (Benne)
2012-01-01
textabstractWe present a novel, automated way to find differential paths for MD5. Its main application is in the construction of \\emph{chosen-prefix collisions}. We have shown how, at an approximate expected cost of $2^{39}$ calls to the MD5 compression function, for any two chosen
MODIS/Aqua Atmosphere Aeronet Subsetting Product
National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The MODIS/Aqua Atmosphere Aeronet Subsetting Product (MYDARNSS) consists of MODIS Atmosphere and Ancillary Products subsets that are generated over a number of...
Subset selection in regression
Miller, Alan
2002-01-01
Originally published in 1990, the first edition of Subset Selection in Regression filled a significant gap in the literature, and its critical and popular success has continued for more than a decade. Thoroughly revised to reflect progress in theory, methods, and computing power, the second edition promises to continue that tradition. The author has thoroughly updated each chapter, incorporated new material on recent developments, and included more examples and references. New in the Second Edition:A separate chapter on Bayesian methodsComplete revision of the chapter on estimationA major example from the field of near infrared spectroscopyMore emphasis on cross-validationGreater focus on bootstrappingStochastic algorithms for finding good subsets from large numbers of predictors when an exhaustive search is not feasible Software available on the Internet for implementing many of the algorithms presentedMore examplesSubset Selection in Regression, Second Edition remains dedicated to the techniques for fitting...
Computer access security code system
Collins, Earl R., Jr. (Inventor)
1990-01-01
A security code system for controlling access to computer and computer-controlled entry situations comprises a plurality of subsets of alpha-numeric characters disposed in random order in matrices of at least two dimensions forming theoretical rectangles, cubes, etc., such that when access is desired, at least one pair of previously unused character subsets not found in the same row or column of the matrix is chosen at random and transmitted by the computer. The proper response to gain access is transmittal of subsets which complete the rectangle, and/or a parallelepiped whose opposite corners were defined by first groups of code. Once used, subsets are not used again to absolutely defeat unauthorized access by eavesdropping, and the like.
On subset selection from Logistic populations
Laan, van der P.
1990-01-01
Some distributional results are derived for subset selection from Logistic populations, differing only in their location parameter. The probability of correct selection is determined. Exact and numerical results concerning the expected subset size are presented.
On Maximal Non-Disjoint Families of Subsets
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Yu. A. Zuev
2017-01-01
Full Text Available The paper studies maximal non-disjoint families of subsets of a finite set. Non-disjointness means that any two subsets of a family have a nonempty intersection. The maximality is expressed by the fact that adding a new subset to the family cannot increase its power without violating a non-disjointness condition. Studying the properties of such families is an important section of the extreme theory of sets. Along with purely combinatorial interest, the problems considered here play an important role in informatics, anti-noise coding, and cryptography.In 1961 this problem saw the light of day in the Erdos, Ko and Rado paper, which established a maximum power of the non-disjoint family of subsets of equal power. In 1974 the Erdos and Claytman publication estimated the number of maximal non-disjoint families of subsets without involving the equality of their power. These authors failed to establish an asymptotics of the logarithm of the number of such families when the power of a basic finite set tends to infinity. However, they suggested such an asymptotics as a hypothesis. A.D. Korshunov in two publications in 2003 and 2005 established the asymptotics for the number of non-disjoint families of the subsets of arbitrary powers without maximality condition of these families.The basis for the approach used in the paper to study the families of subsets is their description in the language of Boolean functions. A one-to-one correspondence between a family of subsets and a Boolean function is established by the fact that the characteristic vectors of subsets of a family are considered to be the unit sets of a Boolean function. The main theoretical result of the paper is that the maximal non-disjoint families are in one-to-one correspondence with the monotonic self-dual Boolean functions. When estimating the number of maximal non-disjoint families, this allowed us to use the result of A.A. Sapozhenko, who established the asymptotics of the number of the
Efficient Secure Multiparty Subset Computation
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sufang Zhou
2017-01-01
Full Text Available Secure subset problem is important in secure multiparty computation, which is a vital field in cryptography. Most of the existing protocols for this problem can only keep the elements of one set private, while leaking the elements of the other set. In other words, they cannot solve the secure subset problem perfectly. While a few studies have addressed actual secure subsets, these protocols were mainly based on the oblivious polynomial evaluations with inefficient computation. In this study, we first design an efficient secure subset protocol for sets whose elements are drawn from a known set based on a new encoding method and homomorphic encryption scheme. If the elements of the sets are taken from a large domain, the existing protocol is inefficient. Using the Bloom filter and homomorphic encryption scheme, we further present an efficient protocol with linear computational complexity in the cardinality of the large set, and this is considered to be practical for inputs consisting of a large number of data. However, the second protocol that we design may yield a false positive. This probability can be rapidly decreased by reexecuting the protocol with different hash functions. Furthermore, we present the experimental performance analyses of these protocols.
Probabilistic SSME blades structural response under random pulse loading
Shiao, Michael; Rubinstein, Robert; Nagpal, Vinod K.
1987-01-01
The purpose is to develop models of random impacts on a Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) turbopump blade and to predict the probabilistic structural response of the blade to these impacts. The random loading is caused by the impact of debris. The probabilistic structural response is characterized by distribution functions for stress and displacements as functions of the loading parameters which determine the random pulse model. These parameters include pulse arrival, amplitude, and location. The analysis can be extended to predict level crossing rates. This requires knowledge of the joint distribution of the response and its derivative. The model of random impacts chosen allows the pulse arrivals, pulse amplitudes, and pulse locations to be random. Specifically, the pulse arrivals are assumed to be governed by a Poisson process, which is characterized by a mean arrival rate. The pulse intensity is modelled as a normally distributed random variable with a zero mean chosen independently at each arrival. The standard deviation of the distribution is a measure of pulse intensity. Several different models were used for the pulse locations. For example, three points near the blade tip were chosen at which pulses were allowed to arrive with equal probability. Again, the locations were chosen independently at each arrival. The structural response was analyzed both by direct Monte Carlo simulation and by a semi-analytical method.
Associative self-anchoring interacts with obtainability of chosen objects
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Dean eMobbs
2016-01-01
Full Text Available While there is evidence that implicit self-esteem transfers to chosen objects (associative self-anchoring, it is still unknown whether this phenomenon extends to explicit self-esteem. Moreover, whether the knowledge that these objects might belong to the self in the future or not affects the evaluation of these objects has yet to be tested. Here, we demonstrate that evaluations of chosen objects are further enhanced when they are obtainable as compared to when they are not in participants with high explicit self-esteem, whereas participants with low explicit self-esteem exhibit the opposite pattern. These findings extend previous results and shed new light on the role of self-esteem in altering preferences for chosen objects depending on their obtainability.
';Best' Practices for Aggregating Subset Results from Archived Datasets
Baskin, W. E.; Perez, J.
2013-12-01
In response to the exponential growth in science data analysis and visualization capabilities Data Centers have been developing new delivery mechanisms to package and deliver large volumes of aggregated subsets of archived data. New standards are evolving to help data providers and application programmers deal with growing needs of the science community. These standards evolve from the best practices gleaned from new products and capabilities. The NASA Atmospheric Sciences Data Center (ASDC) has developed and deployed production provider-specific search and subset web applications for the CALIPSO, CERES, TES, and MOPITT missions. This presentation explores several use cases that leverage aggregated subset results and examines the standards and formats ASDC developers applied to the delivered files as well as the implementation strategies for subsetting and processing the aggregated products. The following topics will be addressed: - Applications of NetCDF CF conventions to aggregated level 2 satellite subsets - Data-Provider-Specific format requirements vs. generalized standards - Organization of the file structure of aggregated NetCDF subset output - Global Attributes of individual subsetted files vs. aggregated results - Specific applications and framework used for subsetting and delivering derivative data files
Subset specification of central serotonergic neurons
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Marten P Smidt
2013-10-01
Full Text Available The last decade the serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT system has received enormous attention due to its role in regulation of behavior, exemplified by the discovery that increased 5-HT tone in the central nervous system is able to alleviate affective disorders. Here, we review the developmental processes, with a special emphasis on subset specification, leading to the formation of the 5-HT system in the brain. Molecular classification of 5-HT neuronal groups leads to the definition of two independent rostral groups positioned in rhombomere 1 and 2/3 and a caudal group in rhombomere 5-8. In addition, more disperse refinement of these subsets is present as shown by the selective expression of the 5-HT1A autoreceptor, indicating functional diversity between 5-HT subsets. The functional significance of the molecular coding differences is not well known and the molecular basis of described specific connectivity patterns remain to be elucidated. Recent developments in genetic lineage tracing models will provide these data and form a major step-up towards the full understanding of the importance of developmental programming and function of 5-HT neuronal subsets.
Yamada, Tomonori; Shimura, Takaya; Ebi, Masahide; Hirata, Yoshikazu; Nishiwaki, Hirotaka; Mizushima, Takashi; Asukai, Koki; Togawa, Shozo; Takahashi, Satoru; Joh, Takashi
2015-01-01
Our recent prospective study found equivalent accuracy of magnifying chromoendoscopy (MC) and endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) for diagnosing the invasion depth of colorectal cancer (CRC); however, whether these tools show diagnostic differences in categories such as tumor size and morphology remains unclear. Hence, we conducted detailed subset analysis of the prospective data. In this multicenter, prospective, comparative trial, a total of 70 patients with early, flat CRC were enrolled from February 2011 to December 2012, and the results of 66 lesions were finally analyzed. Patients were randomly allocated to primary MC followed by EUS or to primary EUS followed by MC. Diagnoses of invasion depth by each tool were divided into intramucosal to slight submucosal invasion (invasion depth final pathological diagnosis by an independent pathologist blinded to clinical data. To standardize diagnoses among examiners, this trial was started after achievement of a mean κ value of ≥0.6 which was calculated from the average of κ values between each pair of participating endoscopists. Both MC and EUS showed similar diagnostic outcomes, with no significant differences in prediction of invasion depth in subset analyses according to tumor size, location, and morphology. Lesions that were consistently diagnosed as Tis/T1-SMS or ≥T1-SMD with both tools revealed accuracy of 76-78%. Accuracy was low in borderline lesions with irregular pit pattern in MC and distorted findings of the third layer in EUS (MC, 58.5%; EUS, 50.0%). MC and EUS showed the same limited accuracy for predicting invasion depth in all categories of early CRC. Since the irregular pit pattern in MC, distorted findings to the third layer in EUS and inconsistent diagnosis between both tools were associated with low accuracy, further refinements or even novel methods are still needed for such lesions. University hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry UMIN 000005085.
Variable and subset selection in PLS regression
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Høskuldsson, Agnar
2001-01-01
The purpose of this paper is to present some useful methods for introductory analysis of variables and subsets in relation to PLS regression. We present here methods that are efficient in finding the appropriate variables or subset to use in the PLS regression. The general conclusion...... is that variable selection is important for successful analysis of chemometric data. An important aspect of the results presented is that lack of variable selection can spoil the PLS regression, and that cross-validation measures using a test set can show larger variation, when we use different subsets of X, than...
Chosen-plaintext attack on a joint transform correlator encrypting system
Barrera, John Fredy; Vargas, Carlos; Tebaldi, Myrian; Torroba, Roberto
2010-10-01
We demonstrate that optical encryption methods based on the joint transform correlator architecture are vulnerable to chosen-plaintext attack. An unauthorized user, who introduces three chosen plaintexts in the accessible encryption machine, can obtain the security key code mask. In this contribution, we also propose an alternative method to eliminate ambiguities that allows obtaining the right decrypting key.
BWIP-RANDOM-SAMPLING, Random Sample Generation for Nuclear Waste Disposal
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Sagar, B.
1989-01-01
1 - Description of program or function: Random samples for different distribution types are generated. Distribution types as required for performance assessment modeling of geologic nuclear waste disposal are provided. These are: - Uniform, - Log-uniform (base 10 or natural), - Normal, - Lognormal (base 10 or natural), - Exponential, - Bernoulli, - User defined continuous distribution. 2 - Method of solution: A linear congruential generator is used for uniform random numbers. A set of functions is used to transform the uniform distribution to the other distributions. Stratified, rather than random, sampling can be chosen. Truncated limits can be specified on many distributions, whose usual definition has an infinite support. 3 - Restrictions on the complexity of the problem: Generation of correlated random variables is not included
Craig, Sonya; Kylintireas, Ilias; Kohler, Malcolm; Nicoll, Debby; Bratton, Daniel J; Nunn, Andrew J; Leeson, Paul; Neubauer, Stefan; Stradling, John R
2015-09-15
Minimally symptomatic obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is highly prevalent, and the effects of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on myocardial function in these patients are unknown. The MOSAIC randomized, controlled trial of CPAP for minimally symptomatic OSA assessed the effect of CPAP on myocardial function in a subset of patients. Two centers taking part in the MOSAIC trial randomized 238 patients in parallel to 6 months of CPAP (120) or standard care (118). Of these, 168 patients had echocardiograms, and 68 patients had a cardiac magnetic resonance scan (CMR). A larger group (314) from 4 centers had brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) measured. Mean (SD) baseline oxygen desaturation index (ODI) and Epworth sleepiness score (ESS) were 13.5 (13.2), and 8.4 (4.0), respectively. CPAP significantly reduced ESS and ODI. Baseline LV ejection fraction (LVEF) was well preserved (60.4%). CPAP had no significant effect on echo-derived left atrial (LA) area (-1.0 cm2, 95% CI -2.6 to +0.6, p = 0.23) or early to late left ventricular filling velocity (E/A) ratio (-0.01, 95% CI -0.07 to +0.05, p = 0.79). There was a small change in echo-derived LV end diastolic volume (EDV) with CPAP (-5.9 mL, 95% CI -10.6 to -1.2, p = 0.015). No significant changes were detected by CMR on LV mass index (+1.1 g/m(2), 95% CI -5.9 to +8.0, p = 0.76) or LVEF (+0.8%, 95% CI -1.2 to +2.8, p = 0.41). CPAP did not affect BNP levels (p = 0.16). Six months of CPAP therapy does not change cardiac functional or structural parameters measured by echocardiogram or CMR in patients with minimally symptomatic mild-to-moderate OSA. ISRCTN 34164388 (http://isrctn.org). © 2015 American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
Zhou, Fuqun; Zhang, Aining
2016-10-25
Nowadays, various time-series Earth Observation data with multiple bands are freely available, such as Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) datasets including 8-day composites from NASA, and 10-day composites from the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing (CCRS). It is challenging to efficiently use these time-series MODIS datasets for long-term environmental monitoring due to their vast volume and information redundancy. This challenge will be greater when Sentinel 2-3 data become available. Another challenge that researchers face is the lack of in-situ data for supervised modelling, especially for time-series data analysis. In this study, we attempt to tackle the two important issues with a case study of land cover mapping using CCRS 10-day MODIS composites with the help of Random Forests' features: variable importance, outlier identification. The variable importance feature is used to analyze and select optimal subsets of time-series MODIS imagery for efficient land cover mapping, and the outlier identification feature is utilized for transferring sample data available from one year to an adjacent year for supervised classification modelling. The results of the case study of agricultural land cover classification at a regional scale show that using only about a half of the variables we can achieve land cover classification accuracy close to that generated using the full dataset. The proposed simple but effective solution of sample transferring could make supervised modelling possible for applications lacking sample data.
Subset-sum phase transitions and data compression
Merhav, Neri
2011-09-01
We propose a rigorous analysis approach for the subset-sum problem in the context of lossless data compression, where the phase transition of the subset-sum problem is directly related to the passage between ambiguous and non-ambiguous decompression, for a compression scheme that is based on specifying the sequence composition. The proposed analysis lends itself to straightforward extensions in several directions of interest, including non-binary alphabets, incorporation of side information at the decoder (Slepian-Wolf coding), and coding schemes based on multiple subset sums. It is also demonstrated that the proposed technique can be used to analyze the critical behavior in a more involved situation where the sequence composition is not specified by the encoder.
Relaxing Chosen-Ciphertext Security
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Canetti, Ran; Krawczyk, Hugo; Nielsen, Jesper Buus
2003-01-01
Security against adaptive chosen ciphertext attacks (or, CCA security) has been accepted as the standard requirement from encryption schemes that need to withstand active attacks. In particular, it is regarded as the appropriate security notion for encryption schemes used as components within...... general protocols and applications. Indeed, CCA security was shown to suffice in a large variety of contexts. However, CCA security often appears to be somewhat too strong: there exist encryption schemes (some of which come up naturally in practice) that are not CCA secure, but seem sufficiently secure...... “for most practical purposes.” We propose a relaxed variant of CCA security, called Replayable CCA (RCCA) security. RCCA security accepts as secure the non-CCA (yet arguably secure) schemes mentioned above; furthermore, it suffices for most existing applications of CCA security. We provide three...
Stochastic subset selection for learning with kernel machines.
Rhinelander, Jason; Liu, Xiaoping P
2012-06-01
Kernel machines have gained much popularity in applications of machine learning. Support vector machines (SVMs) are a subset of kernel machines and generalize well for classification, regression, and anomaly detection tasks. The training procedure for traditional SVMs involves solving a quadratic programming (QP) problem. The QP problem scales super linearly in computational effort with the number of training samples and is often used for the offline batch processing of data. Kernel machines operate by retaining a subset of observed data during training. The data vectors contained within this subset are referred to as support vectors (SVs). The work presented in this paper introduces a subset selection method for the use of kernel machines in online, changing environments. Our algorithm works by using a stochastic indexing technique when selecting a subset of SVs when computing the kernel expansion. The work described here is novel because it separates the selection of kernel basis functions from the training algorithm used. The subset selection algorithm presented here can be used in conjunction with any online training technique. It is important for online kernel machines to be computationally efficient due to the real-time requirements of online environments. Our algorithm is an important contribution because it scales linearly with the number of training samples and is compatible with current training techniques. Our algorithm outperforms standard techniques in terms of computational efficiency and provides increased recognition accuracy in our experiments. We provide results from experiments using both simulated and real-world data sets to verify our algorithm.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Tomonori Yamada
Full Text Available Our recent prospective study found equivalent accuracy of magnifying chromoendoscopy (MC and endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS for diagnosing the invasion depth of colorectal cancer (CRC; however, whether these tools show diagnostic differences in categories such as tumor size and morphology remains unclear. Hence, we conducted detailed subset analysis of the prospective data.In this multicenter, prospective, comparative trial, a total of 70 patients with early, flat CRC were enrolled from February 2011 to December 2012, and the results of 66 lesions were finally analyzed. Patients were randomly allocated to primary MC followed by EUS or to primary EUS followed by MC. Diagnoses of invasion depth by each tool were divided into intramucosal to slight submucosal invasion (invasion depth <1000 μm and deep submucosal invasion (invasion depth ≥1000 μm, and then compared with the final pathological diagnosis by an independent pathologist blinded to clinical data. To standardize diagnoses among examiners, this trial was started after achievement of a mean κ value of ≥0.6 which was calculated from the average of κ values between each pair of participating endoscopists.Both MC and EUS showed similar diagnostic outcomes, with no significant differences in prediction of invasion depth in subset analyses according to tumor size, location, and morphology. Lesions that were consistently diagnosed as Tis/T1-SMS or ≥T1-SMD with both tools revealed accuracy of 76-78%. Accuracy was low in borderline lesions with irregular pit pattern in MC and distorted findings of the third layer in EUS (MC, 58.5%; EUS, 50.0%.MC and EUS showed the same limited accuracy for predicting invasion depth in all categories of early CRC. Since the irregular pit pattern in MC, distorted findings to the third layer in EUS and inconsistent diagnosis between both tools were associated with low accuracy, further refinements or even novel methods are still needed for such lesions
Development of a synchronous subset of AADL
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Filali, Mamoun; Lawall, Julia
2010-01-01
We study the definition and the mapping of an AADL subset: the so called synchronous subset. We show that the data port protocol used for delayed and immediate connections between periodic threads can be interpreted in a synchronous way. In this paper, we formalize this interpretation and study ...... the development of its mapping such that the original synchronous semantics is preserved. For that purpose, we use refinements through the Event B method....
Band Subset Selection for Hyperspectral Image Classification
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Chunyan Yu
2018-01-01
Full Text Available This paper develops a new approach to band subset selection (BSS for hyperspectral image classification (HSIC which selects multiple bands simultaneously as a band subset, referred to as simultaneous multiple band selection (SMMBS, rather than one band at a time sequentially, referred to as sequential multiple band selection (SQMBS, as most traditional band selection methods do. In doing so, a criterion is particularly developed for BSS that can be used for HSIC. It is a linearly constrained minimum variance (LCMV derived from adaptive beamforming in array signal processing which can be used to model misclassification errors as the minimum variance. To avoid an exhaustive search for all possible band subsets, two numerical algorithms, referred to as sequential (SQ and successive (SC algorithms are also developed for LCMV-based SMMBS, called SQ LCMV-BSS and SC LCMV-BSS. Experimental results demonstrate that LCMV-based BSS has advantages over SQMBS.
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Warburton, P.E.; Gosden, J.; Lawson, D. [Western General Hospital, Edinburgh (United Kingdom)] [and others
1996-04-15
Alpha satellite DNA is a tandemly repeated DNA family found at the centromeres of all primate chromosomes examined. The fundamental repeat units of alpha satellite DNA are diverged 169- to 172-bp monomers, often found to be organized in chromosome-specific higher-order repeat units. The chromosomes of human (Homo sapiens (HSA)), chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes (PTR) and Pan paniscus), and gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) share a remarkable similarity and synteny. It is of interest to ask if alpha satellite arrays at centromeres of homologous chromosomes between these species are closely related (evolving in an orthologous manner) or if the evolutionary processes that homogenize and spread these arrays within and between chromosomes result in nonorthologous evolution of arrays. By using PCR primers specific for human chromosome 17-specific alpha satellite DNA, we have amplified, cloned, and characterized a chromosome-specific subset from the PTR chimpanzee genome. Hybridization both on Southern blots and in situ as well as sequence analysis show that this subset is most closely related, as expected, to sequences on HSA 17. However, in situ hybridization reveals that this subset is not found on the homologous chromosome in chimpanzee (PTR 19), but instead on PTR 12, which is homologous to HSA 2p. 40 refs., 3 figs.
Darmann, Andreas; Nicosia, Gaia; Pferschy, Ulrich; Schauer, Joachim
2014-03-16
In this work we address a game theoretic variant of the Subset Sum problem, in which two decision makers (agents/players) compete for the usage of a common resource represented by a knapsack capacity. Each agent owns a set of integer weighted items and wants to maximize the total weight of its own items included in the knapsack. The solution is built as follows: Each agent, in turn, selects one of its items (not previously selected) and includes it in the knapsack if there is enough capacity. The process ends when the remaining capacity is too small for including any item left. We look at the problem from a single agent point of view and show that finding an optimal sequence of items to select is an [Formula: see text]-hard problem. Therefore we propose two natural heuristic strategies and analyze their worst-case performance when (1) the opponent is able to play optimally and (2) the opponent adopts a greedy strategy. From a centralized perspective we observe that some known results on the approximation of the classical Subset Sum can be effectively adapted to the multi-agent version of the problem.
Proposal of Solidification/Stabilisation Process of Chosen Hazardous Waste by Cementation
Bozena Dohnalkova
2015-01-01
This paper presents a part of the project solving which is dedicated to the identification of the hazardous waste with the most critical production within the Czech Republic with the aim to study and find the optimal composition of the cement matrix that will ensure maximum content disposal of chosen hazardous waste. In the first stage of project solving – which represents this paper – a specific hazardous waste was chosen, its properties were identified and suitable soli...
Chemical library subset selection algorithms: a unified derivation using spatial statistics.
Hamprecht, Fred A; Thiel, Walter; van Gunsteren, Wilfred F
2002-01-01
If similar compounds have similar activity, rational subset selection becomes superior to random selection in screening for pharmacological lead discovery programs. Traditional approaches to this experimental design problem fall into two classes: (i) a linear or quadratic response function is assumed (ii) some space filling criterion is optimized. The assumptions underlying the first approach are clear but not always defendable; the second approach yields more intuitive designs but lacks a clear theoretical foundation. We model activity in a bioassay as realization of a stochastic process and use the best linear unbiased estimator to construct spatial sampling designs that optimize the integrated mean square prediction error, the maximum mean square prediction error, or the entropy. We argue that our approach constitutes a unifying framework encompassing most proposed techniques as limiting cases and sheds light on their underlying assumptions. In particular, vector quantization is obtained, in dimensions up to eight, in the limiting case of very smooth response surfaces for the integrated mean square error criterion. Closest packing is obtained for very rough surfaces under the integrated mean square error and entropy criteria. We suggest to use either the integrated mean square prediction error or the entropy as optimization criteria rather than approximations thereof and propose a scheme for direct iterative minimization of the integrated mean square prediction error. Finally, we discuss how the quality of chemical descriptors manifests itself and clarify the assumptions underlying the selection of diverse or representative subsets.
CD14CD16 Monocyte Subset Levels in Heart Failure Patients
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Chiara Barisione
2010-01-01
Full Text Available Our aim was to define the distribution of monocyte subsets in a cohort of congestive heart failure (CHF patients, to verify whether increased severity of CHF is linked to the expansion of specific monocyte subsets, and finally to investigate the relationship between monocyte subset relative frequencies, laboratory parameters of inflammation, and monocyte ACE expression.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Andersson, J; Angenete, E; Gellerstedt, M
2013-01-01
Previous studies comparing laparoscopic and open surgical techniques have reported improved health-related quality of life (HRQL). This analysis compared HRQL 12¿months after laparoscopic versus open surgery for rectal cancer in a subset of a randomized trial.......Previous studies comparing laparoscopic and open surgical techniques have reported improved health-related quality of life (HRQL). This analysis compared HRQL 12¿months after laparoscopic versus open surgery for rectal cancer in a subset of a randomized trial....
On the size of the subset partial order
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Elmasry, Amr Ahmed Abd Elmoneim
2012-01-01
Given a family of k sets with cardinalities S 1,S 2,⋯, S k and N=Σ k i=1S i, we show that the size of the partial order graph induced by the subset relation (called the subset graph) is O(Σ si≤B 2si+N/lgN·Σ si>Blg(s i/B)), 2 where B=lg(N/lg 2N). This implies a simpler proof to the O(N 2/lg 2N...
Effects of low dose radiation on regulatory function between lymphocyte subsets
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Tian Hailin; Su Liaoyuan; Du Zeji; Zou Huawei; Wang Aiqing
1997-01-01
Four kinds of McAbs (anti CD 4 , CD 8 , CD 19 and CD 57 ) were used to separate CD 4 , CD 8 , CD 19 (B) and CD 57 (NK) lymphocyte subsets from human peripheral blood by 'Panning-direct' method. First the natural killing activity of each subsets and the regulatory functions between CD 57 and other subsets were studied. Then the effects of low dose radiation on the function of CD 57 cells and the regulatory functions between CD 57 and other subsets were studied. The results showed that the NK activity was found in all of the four subsets, with CD 57 cell having the strongest activity. When CD 4 and CD 57 cells were co-cultured, the total NK activity was higher than that of the sum of these two single subsets, i.e. there was synergistic effect between CD 4 and CD 57 cells. When CD 8 or CD 19 cells were co-cultured separately with CD 57 cells, no synergistic effect was found. Irradiation by gamma rays at doses of 50 cGy and 80 cGy was able to stimulate the function of CD 57 cells. After Cd 4 or CD 57 cells were irradiated, the total NK activity of their co-culture increased significantly. This phenomenon was not found in other subsets. This suggested that low dose radiation can enhance the synergistic action between CD 4 and CD 57 cells. So at least four subsets (CD 4 , CD 8 , CD 19 , CD 57 ) contribute to the total NK activity of peripheral blood mononuclear cells. (15 refs., 4 tabs.)
Eco-efficiency analysis methodology on the example of the chosen polyolefins production
K. Czaplicka-Kolarz; D. Burchart-Korol; P. Krawczyk
2010-01-01
the chosen polyolefins production. The article presents also main tools of eco-efficiency analysis: Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Net Present Value (NPV).Design/methodology/approach: On the basis of LCA and NPV of high density polyethylene (HDPE) and low density polyethylene (LDPE) production, eco-efficiency analysis is conducted.Findings: In this article environmental and economic performance of the chosen polyolefins production was presented. The basis phases of eco-efficiency methodology...
Susceptibility and response of human blood monocyte subsets to primary dengue virus infection.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Kok Loon Wong
Full Text Available Human blood monocytes play a central role in dengue infections and form the majority of virus infected cells in the blood. Human blood monocytes are heterogeneous and divided into CD16(- and CD16(+ subsets. Monocyte subsets play distinct roles during disease, but it is not currently known if monocyte subsets differentially contribute to dengue protection and pathogenesis. Here, we compared the susceptibility and response of the human CD16(- and CD16(+ blood monocyte subsets to primary dengue virus in vitro. We found that both monocyte subsets were equally susceptible to dengue virus (DENV2 NGC, and capable of supporting the initial production of new infective virus particles. Both monocyte subsets produced anti-viral factors, including IFN-α, CXCL10 and TRAIL. However, CD16(+ monocytes were the major producers of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines in response to dengue virus, including IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6, CCL2, 3 and 4. The susceptibility of both monocyte subsets to infection was increased after IL-4 treatment, but this increase was more profound for the CD16(+ monocyte subset, particularly at early time points after virus exposure. These findings reveal the differential role that monocyte subsets might play during dengue disease.
Baron, Robert V; Conley, Yvette P; Gorin, Michael B; Weeks, Daniel E
2015-03-18
When studying the genetics of a human trait, we typically have to manage both genome-wide and targeted genotype data. There can be overlap of both people and markers from different genotyping experiments; the overlap can introduce several kinds of problems. Most times the overlapping genotypes are the same, but sometimes they are different. Occasionally, the lab will return genotypes using a different allele labeling scheme (for example 1/2 vs A/C). Sometimes, the genotype for a person/marker index is unreliable or missing. Further, over time some markers are merged and bad samples are re-run under a different sample name. We need a consistent picture of the subset of data we have chosen to work with even though there might possibly be conflicting measurements from multiple data sources. We have developed the dbVOR database, which is designed to hold data efficiently for both genome-wide and targeted experiments. The data are indexed for fast retrieval by person and marker. In addition, we store pedigree and phenotype data for our subjects. The dbVOR database allows us to select subsets of the data by several different criteria and to merge their results into a coherent and consistent whole. Data may be filtered by: family, person, trait value, markers, chromosomes, and chromosome ranges. The results can be presented in columnar, Mega2, or PLINK format. dbVOR serves our needs well. It is freely available from https://watson.hgen.pitt.edu/register . Documentation for dbVOR can be found at https://watson.hgen.pitt.edu/register/docs/dbvor.html .
Listeria arpJ gene modifies T helper type 2 subset differentiation.
Kanoh, Makoto; Maruyama, Saho; Shen, Hua; Matsumoto, Akira; Shinomiya, Hiroto; Przybilla, Karin; Gouin, Edith; Cossart, Pascale; Goebel, Werner; Asano, Yoshihiro
2015-07-15
Although the T-cell subset differentiation pathway has been characterized extensively from the view of host gene regulation, the effects of genes of the pathogen on T-cell subset differentiation during infection have yet to be elucidated. Especially, the bacterial genes that are responsible for this shift have not yet been determined. Utilizing a single-gene-mutation Listeria panel, we investigated genes involved in the host-pathogen interaction that are required for the initiation of T-cell subset differentiation in the early phase of pathogen infection. We demonstrate that the induction of T helper types 1 and 2 (Th1 and Th2) subsets are separate phenomena and are mediated by distinct Listeria genes. We identified several candidate Listeria genes that appear to be involved in the host-Listeria interaction. Among them, arpJ is the strongest candidate gene for inhibiting Th2 subset induction. Furthermore, the analysis utilizing arpJ-deficient Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) revealed that the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily (Tnfsf) 9-TNF receptor superfamily (Tnfrsf) 9 interaction inhibits the Th2 response during Lm infection. arpJ is the candidate gene for inhibiting Th2 T-cell subset induction. The arpJ gene product influences the expression of Tnfsf/Tnfrsf on antigen-presenting cells and inhibits the Th2 T-cell subset differentiation during Listeria infection. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
An Alternative Method for Understanding User-Chosen Passwords
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Zhixiong Zheng
2018-01-01
Full Text Available We present in this paper an alternative method for understanding user-chosen passwords. In password research, much attention has been given to increasing the security and usability of individual passwords for common users. Few of them focus on the relationships between passwords; therefore we explore the relationships between passwords: modification-based, similarity-based, and probability-based. By regarding passwords as vertices, we shed light on how to transform a dataset of passwords into a password graph. Subsequently, we introduce some novel notions from graph theory and report on a number of inner properties of passwords from the perspective of graph. With the assistance of Python Graph-tool, we are able to visualize our password graph to deliver an intuitive grasp of user-chosen passwords. Five real-world password datasets are used in our experiments to fulfill our thorough experiments. We discover that (1 some passwords in a dataset are tightly connected with each other; (2 they have the tendency to gather together as a cluster like they are in a social network; (3 password graph has logarithmic distribution for its degrees. Top clusters in password graph could be exploited to obtain the effective mangling rules for cracking passwords. Also, password graph can be utilized for a new kind of password strength meter.
Evolution of a Modified Binomial Random Graph by Agglomeration
Kang, Mihyun; Pachon, Angelica; Rodríguez, Pablo M.
2018-02-01
In the classical Erdős-Rényi random graph G( n, p) there are n vertices and each of the possible edges is independently present with probability p. The random graph G( n, p) is homogeneous in the sense that all vertices have the same characteristics. On the other hand, numerous real-world networks are inhomogeneous in this respect. Such an inhomogeneity of vertices may influence the connection probability between pairs of vertices. The purpose of this paper is to propose a new inhomogeneous random graph model which is obtained in a constructive way from the Erdős-Rényi random graph G( n, p). Given a configuration of n vertices arranged in N subsets of vertices (we call each subset a super-vertex), we define a random graph with N super-vertices by letting two super-vertices be connected if and only if there is at least one edge between them in G( n, p). Our main result concerns the threshold for connectedness. We also analyze the phase transition for the emergence of the giant component and the degree distribution. Even though our model begins with G( n, p), it assumes the existence of some community structure encoded in the configuration. Furthermore, under certain conditions it exhibits a power law degree distribution. Both properties are important for real-world applications.
Spectra of random operators with absolutely continuous integrated density of states
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Rio, Rafael del
2014-01-01
The structure of the spectrum of random operators is studied. It is shown that if the density of states measure of some subsets of the spectrum is zero, then these subsets are empty. In particular follows that absolute continuity of the integrated density of states implies singular spectra of ergodic operators is either empty or of positive measure. Our results apply to Anderson and alloy type models, perturbed Landau Hamiltonians, almost periodic potentials, and models which are not ergodic
Spectra of random operators with absolutely continuous integrated density of states
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Rio, Rafael del, E-mail: delrio@iimas.unam.mx, E-mail: delriomagia@gmail.com [Departamento de Fisica Matematica, Instituto de Investigaciones en Matemáticas Aplicadas y en Sistemas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, C.P. 04510, México D.F. (Mexico)
2014-04-15
The structure of the spectrum of random operators is studied. It is shown that if the density of states measure of some subsets of the spectrum is zero, then these subsets are empty. In particular follows that absolute continuity of the integrated density of states implies singular spectra of ergodic operators is either empty or of positive measure. Our results apply to Anderson and alloy type models, perturbed Landau Hamiltonians, almost periodic potentials, and models which are not ergodic.
The efficiency of subset selection of an almost best treatment
Laan, van der P.
1991-01-01
A generalized goal using subset selection is discussed for the location parameter case. This goal is to select a non-empty subset from a set of k (k \\geq 2) treatments that contains at least one \\epsilon-best treatment with confidence level P*. For a set of treatments an \\epsilon-best treatment is
Roquin Paralogs Differentially Regulate Functional NKT Cell Subsets.
Drees, Christoph; Vahl, J Christoph; Bortoluzzi, Sabrina; Heger, Klaus D; Fischer, Julius C; Wunderlich, F Thomas; Peschel, Christian; Schmidt-Supprian, Marc
2017-04-01
NKT cells represent a small subset of glycolipid-recognizing T cells that are heavily implicated in human allergic, autoimmune, and malignant diseases. In the thymus, precursor cells recognize self-glycolipids by virtue of their semi-invariant TCR, which triggers NKT cell lineage commitment and maturation. During their development, NKT cells are polarized into the NKT1, NKT2, and NKT17 subsets, defined through their cytokine-secretion patterns and the expression of key transcription factors. However, we have largely ignored how the differentiation into the NKT cell subsets is regulated. In this article, we describe the mRNA-binding Roquin-1 and -2 proteins as central regulators of murine NKT cell fate decisions. In the thymus, T cell-specific ablation of the Roquin paralogs leads to a dramatic expansion of NKT17 cells, whereas peripheral mature NKT cells are essentially absent. Roquin-1/2-deficient NKT17 cells show exaggerated lineage-specific expression of nearly all NKT17-defining proteins tested. We show through mixed bone marrow chimera experiments that NKT17 polarization is mediated through cell-intrinsic mechanisms early during NKT cell development. In contrast, the loss of peripheral NKT cells is due to cell-extrinsic factors. Surprisingly, Roquin paralog-deficient NKT cells are, in striking contrast to conventional T cells, compromised in their ability to secrete cytokines. Altogether, we show that Roquin paralogs regulate the development and function of NKT cell subsets in the thymus and periphery. Copyright © 2017 by The American Association of Immunologists, Inc.
Investigating evolutionary conservation of dendritic cell subset identity and functions
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Thien-Phong eVu Manh
2015-06-01
Full Text Available Dendritic cells (DC were initially defined as mononuclear phagocytes with a dendritic morphology and an exquisite efficiency for naïve T cell activation. DC encompass several subsets initially identified by their expression of specific cell surface molecules and later shown to excel in distinct functions and to develop under the instruction of different transcription factors or cytokines. Very few cell surface molecules are expressed in a specific manner on any immune cell type. Hence, to identify cell types, the sole use of a small number of cell surface markers in classical flow cytometry can be deceiving. Moreover, the markers currently used to define mononuclear phagocyte subsets vary depending on the tissue and animal species studied and even between laboratories. This has led to confusion in the definition of DC subset identity and in their attribution of specific functions. There is a strong need to identify a rigorous and consensus way to define mononuclear phagocyte subsets, with precise guidelines potentially applicable throughout tissues and species. We will discuss the advantages, drawbacks and complementarities of different methodologies: cell surface phenotyping, ontogeny, functional characterization and molecular profiling. We will advocate that gene expression profiling is a very rigorous, largely unbiased and accessible method to define the identity of mononuclear phagocyte subsets, which strengthens and refines surface phenotyping. It is uniquely powerful to yield new, experimentally testable, hypotheses on the ontogeny or functions of mononuclear phagocyte subsets, their molecular regulation and their evolutionary conservation. We propose defining cell populations based on a combination of cell surface phenotyping, expression analysis of hallmark genes and robust functional assays, in order to reach a consensus and integrate faster the huge but scattered knowledge accumulated by different laboratories on different cell types
Non-suppressive regulatory T cell subset expansion in pulmonary arterial hypertension.
Sada, Yoshiharu; Dohi, Yoshihiro; Uga, Sayuri; Higashi, Akifumi; Kinoshita, Hiroki; Kihara, Yasuki
2016-08-01
Regulatory T cells (Tregs) have been reported to play a pivotal role in the vascular remodeling of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Recent studies have revealed that Tregs are heterogeneous and can be characterized by three phenotypically and functionally different subsets. In this study, we investigated the roles of Treg subsets in the pathogenesis of PAH in eight patients with PAH and 14 healthy controls. Tregs and their subsets in peripheral blood samples were analyzed by flow cytometry. Treg subsets were defined as CD4(+)CD45RA(+)FoxP3(low) resting Tregs (rTregs), CD4(+)CD45RA(-)FoxP3(high) activated Tregs (aTregs), and CD4(+)CD45RA(-)FoxP3(low) non-suppressive Tregs (non-Tregs). The proportion of Tregs among CD4(+) T cells was significantly higher in PAH patients than in controls (6.54 ± 1.10 vs. 3.81 ± 0.28 %, p < 0.05). Of the three subsets, the proportion of non-Tregs was significantly elevated in PAH patients compared with controls (4.06 ± 0.40 vs. 2.79 ± 0.14 %, p < 0.01), whereas those of rTregs and aTregs were not different between the two groups. Moreover, the expression levels of cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen 4, a functional cell surface molecule, in aTregs (p < 0.05) and non-Tregs (p < 0.05) were significantly higher in PAH patients compared with controls. These results suggested the non-Treg subset was expanded and functionally activated in peripheral lymphocytes obtained from IPAH patients. We hypothesize that immunoreactions involving the specific activation of the non-Treg subset might play a role in the vascular remodeling of PAH.
Statistical image reconstruction for transmission tomography using relaxed ordered subset algorithms
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Kole, J S
2005-01-01
Statistical reconstruction methods offer possibilities for improving image quality as compared to analytical methods, but current reconstruction times prohibit routine clinical applications in x-ray computed tomography (CT). To reduce reconstruction times, we have applied (under) relaxation to ordered subset algorithms. This enables us to use subsets consisting of only single projection angle, effectively increasing the number of image updates within an entire iteration. A second advantage of applying relaxation is that it can help improve convergence by removing the limit cycle behaviour of ordered subset algorithms, which normally do not converge to an optimal solution but rather a suboptimal limit cycle consisting of as many points as there are subsets. Relaxation suppresses the limit cycle behaviour by decreasing the stepsize for approaching the solution. A simulation study for a 2D mathematical phantom and three different ordered subset algorithms shows that all three algorithms benefit from relaxation: equal noise-to-resolution trade-off can be achieved using fewer iterations than the conventional algorithms, while a lower minimal normalized mean square error (NMSE) clearly indicates a better convergence. Two different schemes for setting the relaxation parameter are studied, and both schemes yield approximately the same minimal NMSE
A Quantum Approach to Subset-Sum and Similar Problems
Daskin, Ammar
2017-01-01
In this paper, we study the subset-sum problem by using a quantum heuristic approach similar to the verification circuit of quantum Arthur-Merlin games. Under described certain assumptions, we show that the exact solution of the subset sum problem my be obtained in polynomial time and the exponential speed-up over the classical algorithms may be possible. We give a numerical example and discuss the complexity of the approach and its further application to the knapsack problem.
Influence of Motivation on the Effectiveness of Work in a chosen Firm
Hrutkaiová, Gabriela
2011-01-01
This bachelor thesis is concerned with motivation of employees, describes factors, which can directly or indirectly influence workers and instigate them to efficient work. Theory engages with the definition of motivation term, and its importance, motivation progression and also describes concrete tools, which stimulate increase in employee's motivation. The practical part evaluates system of motivation and its effect in chosen company and also decides whether chosen methods succeeded.
Indirect Positive Evidence in the Acquisition of a Subset Grammar
Schwartz, Misha; Goad, Heather
2017-01-01
This article proposes that second language learners can use indirect positive evidence (IPE) to acquire a phonological grammar that is a subset of their L1 grammar. IPE is evidence from errors in the learner's L1 made by native speakers of the learner's L2. It has been assumed that subset grammars may be acquired using direct or indirect negative…
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Liu, C.; Jiang, M.; Fang, J.; Peng, X.; Cui, H.
2016-11-01
Afatoxin B1 (AFB1) is the most toxic form among the mycotoxins. Cytokines are important mediators of the immune system. T-cell subsets play a crucial role in cell-mediated immunity. The aim of present study was to evaluate the effects of dietary AFB1 on the cytokines expression and T-cell subsets in the cecal tonsil of broiler chickens throughout a 21-day experimental period. One hundred and fifty six one-day-old broiler chickens were randomly divided into control group (0 mg AFB1/kg feed) and AFB1 group (0.6 mg pure AFB1/kg feed). At 7, 14 and 21 days of age, the levels of seven cytokines (IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17, IFN-γ and TNF-α) mRNA expression as well as the proportions of T-cell subsets (CD3+, CD3+CD4+, CD3+CD8+) by qRT-PCR and flow cytometry methods were assessed in the cecal tonsils. The levels of the seven cytokines mRNA expression and the percentages of T-cell subsets significantly decreased at 14 and 21 days of age in the AFB1 group compared with the control group. However, the CD4+/CD8+ ratio was not significantly changed. These results demonstrate that 0.6 mg/kg AFB1 dietary exposure reduced the levels of cytokines mRNA expression and the percentages of T-cell subsets in the cecal tonsils of broiler chickens, suggesting that the cell-mediated immunity of cecal tonsils might be impaired in broilers. (Author)
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Chunyu Liu
2016-08-01
Full Text Available Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1 is the most toxic form among the mycotoxins. Cytokines are important mediators of the immune system. T-cell subsets play a crucial role in cell-mediated immunity. The aim of present study was to evaluate the effects of dietary AFB1 on the cytokines expression and T-cell subsets in the cecal tonsil of broiler chickens throughout a 21-day experimental period. One hundred and fifty six one-day-old broiler chickens were randomly divided into control group (0 mg AFB1/kg feed and AFB1 group (0.6 mg pure AFB1/kg feed. At 7, 14 and 21 days of age, the levels of seven cytokines (IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17, IFN-γ and TNF-α mRNA expression as well as the proportions of T-cell subsets (CD3+, CD3+CD4+, CD3+CD8+ by qRT-PCR and flow cytometry methods were assessed in the cecal tonsils. The levels of the seven cytokines mRNA expression and the percentages of T-cell subsets significantly decreased at 14 and 21 days of age in the AFB1 group compared with the control group. However, the CD4+/CD8+ ratio was not significantly changed. These results demonstrate that 0.6 mg/kg AFB1 dietary exposure reduced the levels of cytokines mRNA expression and the percentages of T-cell subsets in the cecal tonsils of broiler chickens, suggesting that the cell-mediated immunity of cecal tonsils might be impaired in broilers.
Circulating regulatory B cell subsets in patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders.
Han, Jinming; Sun, Li; Wang, Zhongkun; Fan, Xueli; Wang, Lifang; Song, Yang-Yang; Zhu, Jie; Jin, Tao
2017-07-01
This study analyzed the populations of three different subsets of regulatory B cells (Bregs) in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSDs) and explored the relationship between the changes in these subsets of Bregs and the severity of NMOSD. A total of 22 patients with relapsed NMOSDs before treatment were recruited in our study, along with 20 age and gender-matched healthy controls, from May 2015 to March 2016. The percentages and numbers for three different subsets of Bregs including the CD19 + CD24 hi CD38 hi , CD19 + CD24 hi CD27 + , and CD19 + CD5 + CD1d hi populations were evaluated in parallel by flow cytometry. Afterwards, correlations between the change of three different subsets of Bregs and disease severity were analyzed. We found significantly lower percentages of CD19 + CD24 hi CD38 hi and CD19 + CD5 + CD1d hi Bregs in NMOSDs patients than in healthy individuals. In contrast, the CD19 + CD24 hi CD27 + Bregs population was significantly higher in NMOSDs patients than in healthy individuals. However, the three different Bregs subsets showed no significant correlation with expanded disability status scale (EDSS) or annualized relapse rate (ARR). Our findings suggest that the subsets of Bregs may play complex roles in the pathogenesis of NMOSDs and are not correlated with clinical disease severity. Further insights into the potential role of subsets of Bregs could increase our basic knowledge of NMOSDs pathogenesis.
A Feature Subset Selection Method Based On High-Dimensional Mutual Information
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Chee Keong Kwoh
2011-04-01
Full Text Available Feature selection is an important step in building accurate classifiers and provides better understanding of the data sets. In this paper, we propose a feature subset selection method based on high-dimensional mutual information. We also propose to use the entropy of the class attribute as a criterion to determine the appropriate subset of features when building classifiers. We prove that if the mutual information between a feature set X and the class attribute Y equals to the entropy of Y , then X is a Markov Blanket of Y . We show that in some cases, it is infeasible to approximate the high-dimensional mutual information with algebraic combinations of pairwise mutual information in any forms. In addition, the exhaustive searches of all combinations of features are prerequisite for finding the optimal feature subsets for classifying these kinds of data sets. We show that our approach outperforms existing filter feature subset selection methods for most of the 24 selected benchmark data sets.
T-lymphocyte subsets in West African children: impact of age, sex, and season
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Lisse, I M; Aaby, P; Whittle, H
1997-01-01
method to determine T-lymphocyte subsets. RESULTS: We found differences by age, sex, and season, whereas there were no significant differences by birth order, twinning, or ethnic group. The CD4+ percentage declined from birth to age 2 years, at which time it started to increase to higher levels at age 4......OBJECTIVE: There has been no reference material for T-lymphocyte subsets for normal children in developing countries. We therefore used T-lymphocyte subset determinations among children in three different studies in Guinea-Bissau to construct age-related reference material and to examine possible...... determinants of T-lymphocyte subset levels. METHODS: A total of 803 healthy West African children younger than 6 years were included in the three community studies of T-lymphocyte subsets among twins and singletons, after measles infection and after measles immunization. We used the immunoalkaline phosphatase...
Metastability of Reversible Random Walks in Potential Fields
Landim, C.; Misturini, R.; Tsunoda, K.
2015-09-01
Let be an open and bounded subset of , and let be a twice continuously differentiable function. Denote by the discretization of , , and denote by the continuous-time, nearest-neighbor, random walk on which jumps from to at rate . We examine in this article the metastable behavior of among the wells of the potential F.
Hancock, David G; Shklovskaya, Elena; Guy, Thomas V; Falsafi, Reza; Fjell, Chris D; Ritchie, William; Hancock, Robert E W; Fazekas de St Groth, Barbara
2014-01-01
Dendritic cells (DCs) are critical for regulating CD4 and CD8 T cell immunity, controlling Th1, Th2, and Th17 commitment, generating inducible Tregs, and mediating tolerance. It is believed that distinct DC subsets have evolved to control these different immune outcomes. However, how DC subsets mount different responses to inflammatory and/or tolerogenic signals in order to accomplish their divergent functions remains unclear. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) provides an excellent model for investigating responses in closely related splenic DC subsets, as all subsets express the LPS receptor TLR4 and respond to LPS in vitro. However, previous studies of the LPS-induced DC transcriptome have been performed only on mixed DC populations. Moreover, comparisons of the in vivo response of two closely related DC subsets to LPS stimulation have not been reported in the literature to date. We compared the transcriptomes of murine splenic CD8 and CD11b DC subsets after in vivo LPS stimulation, using RNA-Seq and systems biology approaches. We identified subset-specific gene signatures, which included multiple functional immune mediators unique to each subset. To explain the observed subset-specific differences, we used a network analysis approach. While both DC subsets used a conserved set of transcription factors and major signalling pathways, the subsets showed differential regulation of sets of genes that 'fine-tune' the network Hubs expressed in common. We propose a model in which signalling through common pathway components is 'fine-tuned' by transcriptional control of subset-specific modulators, thus allowing for distinct functional outcomes in closely related DC subsets. We extend this analysis to comparable datasets from the literature and confirm that our model can account for cell subset-specific responses to LPS stimulation in multiple subpopulations in mouse and man.
Design of focused and restrained subsets from extremely large virtual libraries.
Jamois, Eric A; Lin, Chien T; Waldman, Marvin
2003-11-01
With the current and ever-growing offering of reagents along with the vast palette of organic reactions, virtual libraries accessible to combinatorial chemists can reach sizes of billions of compounds or more. Extracting practical size subsets for experimentation has remained an essential step in the design of combinatorial libraries. A typical approach to computational library design involves enumeration of structures and properties for the entire virtual library, which may be unpractical for such large libraries. This study describes a new approach termed as on the fly optimization (OTFO) where descriptors are computed as needed within the subset optimization cycle and without intermediate enumeration of structures. Results reported herein highlight the advantages of coupling an ultra-fast descriptor calculation engine to subset optimization capabilities. We also show that enumeration of properties for the entire virtual library may not only be unpractical but also wasteful. Successful design of focused and restrained subsets can be achieved while sampling only a small fraction of the virtual library. We also investigate the stability of the method and compare results obtained from simulated annealing (SA) and genetic algorithms (GA).
A Genetic Algorithm for Selection of Fixed-Size Subsets with Application to Design Problems
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mark A. Wolters
2015-11-01
Full Text Available The R function kofnGA conducts a genetic algorithm search for the best subset of k items from a set of n alternatives, given an objective function that measures the quality of a subset. The function fills a gap in the presently available subset selection software, which typically searches over a range of subset sizes, restricts the types of objective functions considered, or does not include freely available code. The new function is demonstrated on two types of problem where a fixed-size subset search is desirable: design of environmental monitoring networks, and D-optimal design of experiments. Additionally, the performance is evaluated on a class of constructed test problems with a novel design that is interesting in its own right.
Design of a verifiable subset for HAL/S
Browne, J. C.; Good, D. I.; Tripathi, A. R.; Young, W. D.
1979-01-01
An attempt to evaluate the applicability of program verification techniques to the existing programming language, HAL/S is discussed. HAL/S is a general purpose high level language designed to accommodate the software needs of the NASA Space Shuttle project. A diversity of features for scientific computing, concurrent and real-time programming, and error handling are discussed. The criteria by which features were evaluated for inclusion into the verifiable subset are described. Individual features of HAL/S with respect to these criteria are examined and justification for the omission of various features from the subset is provided. Conclusions drawn from the research are presented along with recommendations made for the use of HAL/S with respect to the area of program verification.
Hottenrott, Kuno; Hass, Erik; Kraus, Manon; Neumann, Georg; Steiner, Martin; Knechtle, Beat
2012-08-01
We investigated whether an athlete's self-chosen nutrition strategy (A), compared with a scientifically determined one (S), led to an improved endurance performance in a laboratory time trial after an endurance exercise. S consisted of about 1000 mL·h(-1) fluid, in portions of 250 mL every 15 min, 0.5 g sodium·L(-1), 60 g glucose·h(-1), 30 g fructose·h(-1), and 5 mg caffeine·kg body mass(-1). Eighteen endurance-trained cyclists (16 male; 2 female) were tested using a randomized crossover-design at intervals of 2 weeks, following either A or S. After a warm-up, a maximal oxygen uptake test was performed. Following a 30-min break, a 2.5-h endurance exercise on a bicycle ergometer was carried out at 70% maximal oxygen uptake. After 5 min of rest, a time trial of 64.37 km (40 miles) was completed. The ingested nutrition was recorded every 15 min. In S, the athletes completed the time trial faster (128 vs. 136 min; p ≤ 0.001) and with a significantly higher power output (212 vs. 184 W; p ≤ 0.001). The intake of fluid, energy (carbohydrate-, mono-, and disaccharide), and sodium was significantly higher in S compared with A (p ≤ 0.001) during the endurance exercise. In the time trial, only sodium intake was significantly higher in S (p ≤ 0.001). We concluded that a time trial performance after a 2.5-h endurance exercise in a laboratory setting was significantly improved following a scientific nutrition strategy.
Fron Chabouis, Hélène; Chabouis, Francis; Gillaizeau, Florence; Durieux, Pierre; Chatellier, Gilles; Ruse, N Dorin; Attal, Jean-Pierre
2014-01-01
Operative clinical trials are often small and open-label. Randomization is therefore very important. Stratification and minimization are two randomization options in such trials. The first aim of this study was to compare stratification and minimization in terms of predictability and balance in order to help investigators choose the most appropriate allocation method. Our second aim was to evaluate the influence of various parameters on the performance of these techniques. The created software generated patients according to chosen trial parameters (e.g., number of important prognostic factors, number of operators or centers, etc.) and computed predictability and balance indicators for several stratification and minimization methods over a given number of simulations. Block size and proportion of random allocations could be chosen. A reference trial was chosen (50 patients, 1 prognostic factor, and 2 operators) and eight other trials derived from this reference trial were modeled. Predictability and balance indicators were calculated from 10,000 simulations per trial. Minimization performed better with complex trials (e.g., smaller sample size, increasing number of prognostic factors, and operators); stratification imbalance increased when the number of strata increased. An inverse correlation between imbalance and predictability was observed. A compromise between predictability and imbalance still has to be found by the investigator but our software (HERMES) gives concrete reasons for choosing between stratification and minimization; it can be downloaded free of charge. This software will help investigators choose the appropriate randomization method in future two-arm trials.
Circulating TFH subset distribution is strongly affected in lupus patients with an active disease.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Carole Le Coz
Full Text Available Follicular helper T cells (TFH represent a distinct subset of CD4(+ T cells specialized in providing help to B lymphocytes, which may play a central role in autoimmune diseases having a major B cell component such as systemic lupus erythematosus. Recently, TFH subsets that share common phenotypic and functional characteristics with TFH cells from germinal centers, have been described in the peripheral blood from healthy individuals. The aim of this study was to analyze the distribution of such populations in lupus patients. Circulating TFH cell subsets were defined by multicolor flow cytometry as TFH17 (CXCR3(-CCR6(+, TFH1 (CXCR3 (+ CCR6(- or TFH2 (CXCR3(-CCR6(- cells among CXCR5 (+ CD45RA(-CD4(+ T cells in the peripheral blood of 23 SLE patients and 23 sex and age-matched healthy controls. IL-21 receptor expression by B cells was analyzed by flow cytometry and the serum levels of IL-21 and Igs were determined by ELISA tests. We found that the TFH2 cell subset frequency is strongly and significantly increased in lupus patients with an active disease (SLEDAI score>8, while the TFH1 cell subset percentage is greatly decreased. The TFH2 and TFH1 cell subset frequency alteration is associated with the presence of high Ig levels and autoantibodies in patient's sera. Moreover, the TFH2 cell subset enhancement correlates with an increased frequency of double negative memory B cells (CD27(-IgD(-CD19(+ cells expressing the IL-21R. Finally, we found that IgE levels in lupus patients' sera correlate with disease activity and seem to be associated with high TFH2 cell subset frequency. In conclusion, our study describes for the first time the distribution of circulating TFH cell subsets in lupus patients. Interestingly, we found an increased frequency of TFH2 cells, which correlates with disease activity. Our results suggest that this subset might play a key role in lupus pathogenesis.
Comparison of Subset-Based Local and Finite Element-Based Global Digital Image Correlation
Pan, Bing; Wang, B.; Lubineau, Gilles; Moussawi, Ali
2015-01-01
Digital image correlation (DIC) techniques require an image matching algorithm to register the same physical points represented in different images. Subset-based local DIC and finite element-based (FE-based) global DIC are the two primary image matching methods that have been extensively investigated and regularly used in the field of experimental mechanics. Due to its straightforward implementation and high efficiency, subset-based local DIC has been used in almost all commercial DIC packages. However, it is argued by some researchers that FE-based global DIC offers better accuracy because of the enforced continuity between element nodes. We propose a detailed performance comparison between these different DIC algorithms both in terms of measurement accuracy and computational efficiency. Then, by measuring displacements of the same calculation points using the same calculation algorithms (e.g., correlation criterion, initial guess estimation, subpixel interpolation, optimization algorithm and convergence conditions) and identical calculation parameters (e.g., subset or element size), the performances of subset-based local DIC and two FE-based global DIC approaches are carefully compared in terms of measurement error and computational efficiency using both numerical tests and real experiments. A detailed examination of the experimental results reveals that, when subset (element) size is not very small and the local deformation within a subset (element) can be well approximated by the shape function used, standard subset-based local DIC approach not only provides better results in measured displacements, but also demonstrates much higher computation efficiency. However, several special merits of FE-based global DIC approaches are indicated.
Comparison of Subset-Based Local and Finite Element-Based Global Digital Image Correlation
Pan, Bing
2015-02-12
Digital image correlation (DIC) techniques require an image matching algorithm to register the same physical points represented in different images. Subset-based local DIC and finite element-based (FE-based) global DIC are the two primary image matching methods that have been extensively investigated and regularly used in the field of experimental mechanics. Due to its straightforward implementation and high efficiency, subset-based local DIC has been used in almost all commercial DIC packages. However, it is argued by some researchers that FE-based global DIC offers better accuracy because of the enforced continuity between element nodes. We propose a detailed performance comparison between these different DIC algorithms both in terms of measurement accuracy and computational efficiency. Then, by measuring displacements of the same calculation points using the same calculation algorithms (e.g., correlation criterion, initial guess estimation, subpixel interpolation, optimization algorithm and convergence conditions) and identical calculation parameters (e.g., subset or element size), the performances of subset-based local DIC and two FE-based global DIC approaches are carefully compared in terms of measurement error and computational efficiency using both numerical tests and real experiments. A detailed examination of the experimental results reveals that, when subset (element) size is not very small and the local deformation within a subset (element) can be well approximated by the shape function used, standard subset-based local DIC approach not only provides better results in measured displacements, but also demonstrates much higher computation efficiency. However, several special merits of FE-based global DIC approaches are indicated.
Invariant subsets under compact quantum group actions
Huang, Huichi
2012-01-01
We investigate compact quantum group actions on unital $C^*$-algebras by analyzing invariant subsets and invariant states. In particular, we come up with the concept of compact quantum group orbits and use it to show that countable compact metrizable spaces with infinitely many points are not quantum homogeneous spaces.
Two Distinct Myeloid Subsets at the Term Human Fetal–Maternal Interface
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Maria Laura Costa
2017-10-01
Full Text Available During pregnancy, immune cells infiltrate the placenta at different stages of fetal development. NK cells and macrophages are the most predominant cell types. These immune cells play pleiotropic roles, as they control spiral artery remodeling to ensure appropriate blood supply and maintain long-term tolerance to a true allograft; yet, they must be able to mount appropriate immune defenses to pathogens that may threaten the fetus. Whether the same cell type accomplishes all these tasks or if there are dedicated subsets remains controversial. Here, we identify and characterize two distinct subsets of myeloid cells that differ in their pro-inflammatory/regulatory capacity. While one subset predominantly produces the immune-modulating cytokine IL-10, the second subset has superior capacity to secrete pro-inflammatory mediators, such as IL-1β and IL-6. The putative regulatory myeloid cells also express high levels of inhibitory receptors and their ligands, including programmed cell death 1 (PD1 ligands. Importantly, a large fraction of CD8 and CD4 cells in normal term human placenta are PD1 positive, suggesting that the PD1/PD1 ligands axis might be critical to maintain tolerance during pregnancy.
Reference ranges for lymphocyte subsets in healthy adult male Oman is
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Al-Jabri, Ali A.; Al-Shukaili, Ahmed K.; Al-Rashdi, Zowaina T.; Ganguly, Shyam S.
2008-01-01
Objective was to determine the reference ranges of lymphocyte subsets in serologically HIV-seronegative healthy male adults in Oman. A cohort, of 118 healthy male blood donors ranging in age from 18-51 years, was included in the study. The average was 25 years. Blood samples collected into tubes containing ethylene-diamine-tetra acetic acid were investigated for lymphocyte subsets using flow cytometer. This study was conducted in the Immunology Laboratory of Sultan Qaboos University, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Muscat, Oman during the year 2006. For the 118 males investigated, the mean percentage and absolute values of the lymphocyte subsets were as follows: Cd3: 68.53+-7.5%, 1701+-489 cells/ul; CD8: 25.8+-5.9%, 638+-225 cells/ul; CD19: 13.7+-4.7%, 349+-158 cells/ul, CD56: 12.2+-6.7%, 308+-204 cells/ul. The ratio of CD4/CD8 was 1.6. Immunophenotyping has been used to establish reference values of lymphocyte subsets in normal healthy adult males in Oman. The Omani male reference values obtained in this study show wide variations compared with kits values previously used as reference. (author)
PageRank in scale-free random graphs
Chen, Ningyuan; Litvak, Nelli; Olvera-Cravioto, Mariana; Bonata, Anthony; Chung, Fan; Pralat, Paweł
2014-01-01
We analyze the distribution of PageRank on a directed configuration model and show that as the size of the graph grows to infinity, the PageRank of a randomly chosen node can be closely approximated by the PageRank of the root node of an appropriately constructed tree. This tree approximation is in
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Nawar Shara
Full Text Available Kidney and cardiovascular disease are widespread among populations with high prevalence of diabetes, such as American Indians participating in the Strong Heart Study (SHS. Studying these conditions simultaneously in longitudinal studies is challenging, because the morbidity and mortality associated with these diseases result in missing data, and these data are likely not missing at random. When such data are merely excluded, study findings may be compromised. In this article, a subset of 2264 participants with complete renal function data from Strong Heart Exams 1 (1989-1991, 2 (1993-1995, and 3 (1998-1999 was used to examine the performance of five methods used to impute missing data: listwise deletion, mean of serial measures, adjacent value, multiple imputation, and pattern-mixture. Three missing at random models and one non-missing at random model were used to compare the performance of the imputation techniques on randomly and non-randomly missing data. The pattern-mixture method was found to perform best for imputing renal function data that were not missing at random. Determining whether data are missing at random or not can help in choosing the imputation method that will provide the most accurate results.
Two-stage atlas subset selection in multi-atlas based image segmentation
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Zhao, Tingting, E-mail: tingtingzhao@mednet.ucla.edu; Ruan, Dan, E-mail: druan@mednet.ucla.edu [The Department of Radiation Oncology, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095 (United States)
2015-06-15
Purpose: Fast growing access to large databases and cloud stored data presents a unique opportunity for multi-atlas based image segmentation and also presents challenges in heterogeneous atlas quality and computation burden. This work aims to develop a novel two-stage method tailored to the special needs in the face of large atlas collection with varied quality, so that high-accuracy segmentation can be achieved with low computational cost. Methods: An atlas subset selection scheme is proposed to substitute a significant portion of the computationally expensive full-fledged registration in the conventional scheme with a low-cost alternative. More specifically, the authors introduce a two-stage atlas subset selection method. In the first stage, an augmented subset is obtained based on a low-cost registration configuration and a preliminary relevance metric; in the second stage, the subset is further narrowed down to a fusion set of desired size, based on full-fledged registration and a refined relevance metric. An inference model is developed to characterize the relationship between the preliminary and refined relevance metrics, and a proper augmented subset size is derived to ensure that the desired atlases survive the preliminary selection with high probability. Results: The performance of the proposed scheme has been assessed with cross validation based on two clinical datasets consisting of manually segmented prostate and brain magnetic resonance images, respectively. The proposed scheme demonstrates comparable end-to-end segmentation performance as the conventional single-stage selection method, but with significant computation reduction. Compared with the alternative computation reduction method, their scheme improves the mean and medium Dice similarity coefficient value from (0.74, 0.78) to (0.83, 0.85) and from (0.82, 0.84) to (0.95, 0.95) for prostate and corpus callosum segmentation, respectively, with statistical significance. Conclusions: The authors
Two-stage atlas subset selection in multi-atlas based image segmentation.
Zhao, Tingting; Ruan, Dan
2015-06-01
Fast growing access to large databases and cloud stored data presents a unique opportunity for multi-atlas based image segmentation and also presents challenges in heterogeneous atlas quality and computation burden. This work aims to develop a novel two-stage method tailored to the special needs in the face of large atlas collection with varied quality, so that high-accuracy segmentation can be achieved with low computational cost. An atlas subset selection scheme is proposed to substitute a significant portion of the computationally expensive full-fledged registration in the conventional scheme with a low-cost alternative. More specifically, the authors introduce a two-stage atlas subset selection method. In the first stage, an augmented subset is obtained based on a low-cost registration configuration and a preliminary relevance metric; in the second stage, the subset is further narrowed down to a fusion set of desired size, based on full-fledged registration and a refined relevance metric. An inference model is developed to characterize the relationship between the preliminary and refined relevance metrics, and a proper augmented subset size is derived to ensure that the desired atlases survive the preliminary selection with high probability. The performance of the proposed scheme has been assessed with cross validation based on two clinical datasets consisting of manually segmented prostate and brain magnetic resonance images, respectively. The proposed scheme demonstrates comparable end-to-end segmentation performance as the conventional single-stage selection method, but with significant computation reduction. Compared with the alternative computation reduction method, their scheme improves the mean and medium Dice similarity coefficient value from (0.74, 0.78) to (0.83, 0.85) and from (0.82, 0.84) to (0.95, 0.95) for prostate and corpus callosum segmentation, respectively, with statistical significance. The authors have developed a novel two-stage atlas
Two-stage atlas subset selection in multi-atlas based image segmentation
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Zhao, Tingting; Ruan, Dan
2015-01-01
Purpose: Fast growing access to large databases and cloud stored data presents a unique opportunity for multi-atlas based image segmentation and also presents challenges in heterogeneous atlas quality and computation burden. This work aims to develop a novel two-stage method tailored to the special needs in the face of large atlas collection with varied quality, so that high-accuracy segmentation can be achieved with low computational cost. Methods: An atlas subset selection scheme is proposed to substitute a significant portion of the computationally expensive full-fledged registration in the conventional scheme with a low-cost alternative. More specifically, the authors introduce a two-stage atlas subset selection method. In the first stage, an augmented subset is obtained based on a low-cost registration configuration and a preliminary relevance metric; in the second stage, the subset is further narrowed down to a fusion set of desired size, based on full-fledged registration and a refined relevance metric. An inference model is developed to characterize the relationship between the preliminary and refined relevance metrics, and a proper augmented subset size is derived to ensure that the desired atlases survive the preliminary selection with high probability. Results: The performance of the proposed scheme has been assessed with cross validation based on two clinical datasets consisting of manually segmented prostate and brain magnetic resonance images, respectively. The proposed scheme demonstrates comparable end-to-end segmentation performance as the conventional single-stage selection method, but with significant computation reduction. Compared with the alternative computation reduction method, their scheme improves the mean and medium Dice similarity coefficient value from (0.74, 0.78) to (0.83, 0.85) and from (0.82, 0.84) to (0.95, 0.95) for prostate and corpus callosum segmentation, respectively, with statistical significance. Conclusions: The authors
Asymptotic properties of a simple random motion
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Ravishankar, K.
1988-01-01
A random walker in R/sup N/ is considered. At each step the walker picks a point in R/sup N/ from a fixed finite set of destination points. Having chosen the point, the walker moves a fraction r (r < 1) of the distance toward the point along a straight line. Assuming that the successive destination points are chosen independently, it is shown that the asymptotic distribution of the walker's position has the same mean as the destination point distribution. An estimate is obtained for the fraction of time the walker stays within a ball centered at the mean value for almost every destination sequence. Examples show that the asymptotic distribution could have intricate structure
Palm theory for random time changes
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Masakiyo Miyazawa
2001-01-01
Full Text Available Palm distributions are basic tools when studying stationarity in the context of point processes, queueing systems, fluid queues or random measures. The framework varies with the random phenomenon of interest, but usually a one-dimensional group of measure-preserving shifts is the starting point. In the present paper, by alternatively using a framework involving random time changes (RTCs and a two-dimensional family of shifts, we are able to characterize all of the above systems in a single framework. Moreover, this leads to what we call the detailed Palm distribution (DPD which is stationary with respect to a certain group of shifts. The DPD has a very natural interpretation as the distribution seen at a randomly chosen position on the extended graph of the RTC, and satisfies a general duality criterion: the DPD of the DPD gives the underlying probability P in return.
Range-reference determination of lymphocyte subsets in Moroccan
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Administrator
Centre de Transfusion Sanguine, Hôpital Militaire d'Instruction Med V Rabat, Morocco. 3. Service ... The percentage of CD3-CD56+ subsets was affected by smoking (p < 0.01). Our analysis .... lymphocyte subpopulations in non-smokers and.
Auditing Complex Concepts in Overlapping Subsets of SNOMED
Wang, Yue; Wei, Duo; Xu, Junchuan; Elhanan, Gai; Perl, Yehoshua; Halper, Michael; Chen, Yan; Spackman, Kent A.; Hripcsak, George
2008-01-01
Limited resources and the sheer volume of concepts make auditing a large terminology, such as SNOMED CT, a daunting task. It is essential to devise techniques that can aid an auditor by automatically identifying concepts that deserve attention. A methodology for this purpose based on a previously introduced abstraction network (called the p-area taxonomy) for a SNOMED CT hierarchy is presented. The methodology algorithmically gathers concepts appearing in certain overlapping subsets, defined exclusively with respect to the p-area taxonomy, for review. The results of applying the methodology to SNOMED’s Specimen hierarchy are presented. These results are compared against a control sample composed of concepts residing in subsets without the overlaps. With the use of the double bootstrap, the concept group produced by our methodology is shown to yield a statistically significant higher proportion of error discoveries. PMID:18998838
Massive two-loop Bhabha scattering - the factorizable subset
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Fleischer, J.; Tarasov, O.V.; Werthenbach, A.
2002-11-01
The experimental precision that will be reached at the next generation of colliders makes it indispensable to improve theoretical predictions significantly. Bhabha scattering (e + e - → e + e - ) is one of the prime processes calling for a better theoretical precision, in particular for non-zero electron masses. We present a first subset of the full two-loop calculation, namely the factorizable subset. Our calculation is based on DIANA. We reduce tensor integrals to scalar integrals in shifted (increased) dimensions and additional powers of various propagators, so-called dots-on-lines. Recurrence relations remove those dots-on-lines as well as genuine dots-on-lines (originating from mass renormalization) and reduce the dimension of the integrals to the generic d=4-2ε dimensions. The resulting master integrals have to be expanded to O(ε) to ensure proper treatment of all finite terms. (orig.)
Qian, Chongsheng; Wang, Yingying; Cai, Huili; Laroye, Caroline; De Carvalho Bittencourt, Marcelo; Clement, Laurence; Stoltz, Jean-François; Decot, Véronique; Reppel, Loïc; Bensoussan, Danièle
2016-01-01
Adoptive antiviral cellular immunotherapy by infusion of virus-specific T cells (VSTs) is becoming an alternative treatment for viral infection after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The T memory stem cell (TSCM) subset was recently described as exhibiting self-renewal and multipotency properties which are required for sustained efficacy in vivo. We wondered if such a crucial subset for immunotherapy was present in VSTs. We identified, by flow cytometry, TSCM in adenovirus (ADV)-specific interferon (IFN)-γ+ T cells before and after IFN-γ-based immunomagnetic selection, and analyzed the distribution of the main T-cell subsets in VSTs: naive T cells (TN), TSCM, T central memory cells (TCM), T effector memory cell (TEM), and effector T cells (TEFF). In this study all of the different T-cell subsets were observed in the blood sample from healthy donor ADV-VSTs, both before and after IFN-γ-based immunomagnetic selection. As the IFN-γ-based immunomagnetic selection system sorts mainly the most differentiated T-cell subsets, we observed that TEM was always the major T-cell subset of ADV-specific T cells after immunomagnetic isolation and especially after expansion in vitro. Comparing T-cell subpopulation profiles before and after in vitro expansion, we observed that in vitro cell culture with interleukin-2 resulted in a significant expansion of TN-like, TCM, TEM, and TEFF subsets in CD4IFN-γ T cells and of TCM and TEM subsets only in CD8IFN-γ T cells. We demonstrated the presence of all T-cell subsets in IFN-γ VSTs including the TSCM subpopulation, although this was weakly selected by the IFN-γ-based immunomagnetic selection system.
High-Performance Pseudo-Random Number Generation on Graphics Processing Units
Nandapalan, Nimalan; Brent, Richard P.; Murray, Lawrence M.; Rendell, Alistair
2011-01-01
This work considers the deployment of pseudo-random number generators (PRNGs) on graphics processing units (GPUs), developing an approach based on the xorgens generator to rapidly produce pseudo-random numbers of high statistical quality. The chosen algorithm has configurable state size and period, making it ideal for tuning to the GPU architecture. We present a comparison of both speed and statistical quality with other common parallel, GPU-based PRNGs, demonstrating favourable performance o...
Subset Statistics in the linear IV regression model
Kleibergen, F.R.
2005-01-01
We show that the limiting distributions of subset generalizations of the weak instrument robust instrumental variable statistics are boundedly similar when the remaining structural parameters are estimated using maximum likelihood. They are bounded from above by the limiting distributions which
Selecting Optimal Subset of Security Controls
Yevseyeva, I.; Basto-Fernandes, V.; Michael, Emmerich, T. M.; Moorsel, van, A.
2015-01-01
Open Access journal Choosing an optimal investment in information security is an issue most companies face these days. Which security controls to buy to protect the IT system of a company in the best way? Selecting a subset of security controls among many available ones can be seen as a resource allocation problem that should take into account conflicting objectives and constraints of the problem. In particular, the security of the system should be improved without hindering productivity, ...
Gossips and prejudices: ergodic randomized dynamics in social networks
Frasca, Paolo; Ravazzi, Chiara; Tempo, Roberto; Ishii, Hideaki
In this paper we study a new model of opinion dynamics in social networks, which has two main features. First, agents asynchronously interact in pairs, and these pairs are chosen according to a random process: following recent literature, we refer to this communication model as “gossiping‿. Second,
Hoshii, Junko; Yotsumoto, Kayano; Tatsumi, Eri; Tanaka, Chito; Mori, Takashi; Hashimoto, Takeshi
2013-07-01
To compare the therapeutic effects of subject-chosen and therapist-chosen activities in occupational therapy for inpatients with chronic schizophrenia. Prospective comparative study. A psychiatric hospital in Japan. Fifty-nine patients with chronic schizophrenia who had been hospitalized for many years. The subjects received six-months occupational therapy, participating in either activities of their choice (subject-chosen activity group, n = 30) or activities chosen by occupational therapists based on treatment recommendations and patient consent (therapist-chosen activity group, n = 29). The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale and the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) Scale were used to evaluate psychiatric symptoms and psychosocial function, respectively. After six-months occupational therapy, suspiciousness and hostility scores of the positive scale and preoccupation scores of the general psychopathology scale significantly improved in the subject-chosen activity group compared with the therapist-chosen activity group, with 2(2) (median (interquartile range)) and 3(1.25), 2(1) and 2.5(1), and 2(1) and 3(1), respectively. There were no significant differences in psychosocial functions between the two groups. In within-group comparisons before and after occupational therapy, suspiciousness scores of the positive scale, preoccupation scores of the general psychopathology scale, and psychosocial function significantly improved only in the subject-chosen activity group, with 3(1) to 2(2), 3(1) to 2(1), and 40(9) to 40(16) respectively, but not in the therapist-chosen activity group. The results suggested that the subject-chosen activities in occupational therapy could improve the psychiatric symptoms, suspiciousness, and preoccupation of the inpatients with chronic schizophrenia.
B cell subset distribution is altered in patients with severe periodontitis.
Demoersman, Julien; Pochard, Pierre; Framery, Camille; Simon, Quentin; Boisramé, Sylvie; Soueidan, Assem; Pers, Jacques-Olivier
2018-01-01
Several studies have recently highlighted the implication of B cells in physiopathogenesis of periodontal disease by showing that a B cell deficiency leads to improved periodontal parameters. However, the detailed profiles of circulating B cell subsets have not yet been investigated in patients with severe periodontitis (SP). We hypothesised that an abnormal distribution of B cell subsets could be detected in the blood of patients with severe periodontal lesions, as already reported for patients with chronic inflammatory diseases as systemic autoimmune diseases. Fifteen subjects with SP and 13 subjects without periodontitis, according to the definition proposed by the CDC periodontal disease surveillance work group, were enrolled in this pilot observational study. Two flow cytometry panels were designed to analyse the circulating B and B1 cell subset distribution in association with the RANKL expression. A significantly higher percentage of CD27+ memory B cells was observed in patients with SP. Among these CD27+ B cells, the proportion of the switched memory subset was significantly higher. At the same time, human B1 cells, which were previously associated with a regulatory function (CD20+CD69-CD43+CD27+CD11b+), decreased in SP patients. The RANKL expression increased in every B cell subset from the SP patients and was significantly greater in activated B cells than in the subjects without periodontitis. These preliminary results demonstrate the altered distribution of B cells in the context of severe periodontitis. Further investigations with a larger cohort of patients can elucidate if the analysis of the B cell compartment distribution can reflect the periodontal disease activity and be a reliable marker for its prognosis (clinical trial registration number: NCT02833285, B cell functions in periodontitis).
B cell subset distribution is altered in patients with severe periodontitis
Demoersman, Julien; Pochard, Pierre; Framery, Camille; Simon, Quentin; Boisramé, Sylvie; Soueidan, Assem
2018-01-01
Several studies have recently highlighted the implication of B cells in physiopathogenesis of periodontal disease by showing that a B cell deficiency leads to improved periodontal parameters. However, the detailed profiles of circulating B cell subsets have not yet been investigated in patients with severe periodontitis (SP). We hypothesised that an abnormal distribution of B cell subsets could be detected in the blood of patients with severe periodontal lesions, as already reported for patients with chronic inflammatory diseases as systemic autoimmune diseases. Fifteen subjects with SP and 13 subjects without periodontitis, according to the definition proposed by the CDC periodontal disease surveillance work group, were enrolled in this pilot observational study. Two flow cytometry panels were designed to analyse the circulating B and B1 cell subset distribution in association with the RANKL expression. A significantly higher percentage of CD27+ memory B cells was observed in patients with SP. Among these CD27+ B cells, the proportion of the switched memory subset was significantly higher. At the same time, human B1 cells, which were previously associated with a regulatory function (CD20+CD69-CD43+CD27+CD11b+), decreased in SP patients. The RANKL expression increased in every B cell subset from the SP patients and was significantly greater in activated B cells than in the subjects without periodontitis. These preliminary results demonstrate the altered distribution of B cells in the context of severe periodontitis. Further investigations with a larger cohort of patients can elucidate if the analysis of the B cell compartment distribution can reflect the periodontal disease activity and be a reliable marker for its prognosis (clinical trial registration number: NCT02833285, B cell functions in periodontitis). PMID:29447240
Lymphocyte subset contents in cerebrospinal fluid of children with viral encephalitis
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
An-Ran Xu
2016-06-01
Full Text Available Objective: To study the lymphocyte subset contents in cerebrospinal fluid of children with viral encephalitis and their correlation with disease. Methods: Children with viral encephalitis were selected as VE group, children excluded of central nervous system infection by lumbar puncture or children without central nervous system diseases but receiving surgery with spinal anesthesia were selected as control group, and then cerebrospinal fluid and serum were collected to detect lymphocyte subset contents, nerve injury molecule contents as well as inflammatory response indicators and oxidative stress response indicators. Results: CD3+, CD3+CD4+, CD4/CD8 and CD16+CD56+ in cerebrospinal fluid of VE group were lower than those of control group, and both CD3+CD8+ and CD19+ were higher than those of control group; CD3+, CD3+CD4+, CD4/CD8 and CD16+CD56+ in cerebrospinal fluid of children with abnormal MRI were lower than those of children with normal MRI, and both CD3+CD8+ and CD19+ were higher than those of children with normal MRI; NSE, MBP, S-100 and NPT contents in cerebrospinal fluid and serum of VE group were significantly higher than those of control group and had good correlation with lymphocyte subset contents; MMP9, TNF-α and IL-6 contents in cerebrospinal fluid of VE group were significantly higher than those of control group, and SOD and GSH-Px contents were significantly lower than those of control group and had good correlation with lymphocyte subset contents. Conclusions: CD4+/CD8+T lymphocyte ratio and NK cell content decrease, and B lymphocyte content increases in cerebrospinal fluid of children with viral encephalitis, and lymphocyte subset contents have inhibitory effect on MRI manifestation, degree of inflammatory response and oxidative stress response.
Chosen interval methods for solving linear interval systems with special type of matrix
Szyszka, Barbara
2013-10-01
The paper is devoted to chosen direct interval methods for solving linear interval systems with special type of matrix. This kind of matrix: band matrix with a parameter, from finite difference problem is obtained. Such linear systems occur while solving one dimensional wave equation (Partial Differential Equations of hyperbolic type) by using the central difference interval method of the second order. Interval methods are constructed so as the errors of method are enclosed in obtained results, therefore presented linear interval systems contain elements that determining the errors of difference method. The chosen direct algorithms have been applied for solving linear systems because they have no errors of method. All calculations were performed in floating-point interval arithmetic.
Implementing Modifed Burg Algorithms in Multivariate Subset Autoregressive Modeling
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
A. Alexandre Trindade
2003-02-01
Full Text Available The large number of parameters in subset vector autoregressive models often leads one to procure fast, simple, and efficient alternatives or precursors to maximum likelihood estimation. We present the solution of the multivariate subset Yule-Walker equations as one such alternative. In recent work, Brockwell, Dahlhaus, and Trindade (2002, show that the Yule-Walker estimators can actually be obtained as a special case of a general recursive Burg-type algorithm. We illustrate the structure of this Algorithm, and discuss its implementation in a high-level programming language. Applications of the Algorithm in univariate and bivariate modeling are showcased in examples. Univariate and bivariate versions of the Algorithm written in Fortran 90 are included in the appendix, and their use illustrated.
Jiao, Yanmei; Hua, Wei; Zhang, Tong; Zhang, Yonghong; Ji, Yunxia; Zhang, Hongwei; Wu, Hao
2011-03-25
CD8+ T cells may play an important role in protecting against HIV. However, the changes of CD8+ T cell subsets during early period of ART have not been fully studied. Twenty-one asymptomatic treatment-naive HIV-infected patients with CD4 T+ cells less than 350 cells/μl were enrolled in the study. Naïve, central memory(CM), effective memory(EM) and terminally differentiated effector (EMRA) CD8+ cell subsets and their activation and proliferation subsets were evaluated in blood samples collected at base line, and week 2, 4, 8 and 12 of ART. The total CD8+ T cells declined and the Naïve and CM subsets had a tendency of increase. Activation levels of all CD8+ T cell subsets except EMRA subset decreased after ART. However, proliferation levels of total CD8+ T cells, EMRA, EM and CM subsets increased at the first 4 weeks of ART, then decreased. Proliferation level of the naïve cells decreased after ART. The changes of CD8+ T cell subsets during initial ART are complex. Our results display a complete phenotypical picture of CD8+ cell subsets during initial ART and provide insights for understanding of immune status during ART.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Zhang Hongwei
2011-03-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background CD8+ T cells may play an important role in protecting against HIV. However, the changes of CD8+ T cell subsets during early period of ART have not been fully studied. Methods Twenty-one asymptomatic treatment-naive HIV-infected patients with CD4 T+ cells less than 350 cells/μl were enrolled in the study. Naïve, central memory(CM, effective memory(EM and terminally differentiated effector (EMRA CD8+ cell subsets and their activation and proliferation subsets were evaluated in blood samples collected at base line, and week 2, 4, 8 and 12 of ART. Results The total CD8+ T cells declined and the Naïve and CM subsets had a tendency of increase. Activation levels of all CD8+ T cell subsets except EMRA subset decreased after ART. However, proliferation levels of total CD8+ T cells, EMRA, EM and CM subsets increased at the first 4 weeks of ART, then decreased. Proliferation level of the naïve cells decreased after ART. Conclusion The changes of CD8+ T cell subsets during initial ART are complex. Our results display a complete phenotypical picture of CD8+ cell subsets during initial ART and provide insights for understanding of immune status during ART.
Application of subset simulation in reliability estimation of underground pipelines
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Tee, Kong Fah; Khan, Lutfor Rahman; Li, Hongshuang
2014-01-01
This paper presents a computational framework for implementing an advanced Monte Carlo simulation method, called Subset Simulation (SS) for time-dependent reliability prediction of underground flexible pipelines. The SS can provide better resolution for low failure probability level of rare failure events which are commonly encountered in pipeline engineering applications. Random samples of statistical variables are generated efficiently and used for computing probabilistic reliability model. It gains its efficiency by expressing a small probability event as a product of a sequence of intermediate events with larger conditional probabilities. The efficiency of SS has been demonstrated by numerical studies and attention in this work is devoted to scrutinise the robustness of the SS application in pipe reliability assessment and compared with direct Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) method. Reliability of a buried flexible steel pipe with time-dependent failure modes, namely, corrosion induced deflection, buckling, wall thrust and bending stress has been assessed in this study. The analysis indicates that corrosion induced excessive deflection is the most critical failure event whereas buckling is the least susceptible during the whole service life of the pipe. The study also shows that SS is robust method to estimate the reliability of buried pipelines and it is more efficient than MCS, especially in small failure probability prediction
Comprehensive Ocean - Atmosphere Data Set (COADS) LMRF Arctic Subset
National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The Comprehensive Ocean - Atmosphere Data Set (COADS) LMRF Arctic subset contains marine surface weather reports for the region north of 65 degrees N from ships,...
Role of distinct CD4(+) T helper subset in pathogenesis of oral lichen planus.
Wang, Hui; Zhang, Dunfang; Han, Qi; Zhao, Xin; Zeng, Xin; Xu, Yi; Sun, Zheng; Chen, Qianming
2016-07-01
Oral lichen planus (OLP) is one of the most common chronic inflammatory oral mucosal diseases with T-cell-mediated immune pathogenesis. In subepithelial and lamina propria of OLP local lesions, the presence of CD4(+) T helper (CD4(+) Th) cells appeared as the major lymphocytes. These CD4(+) T lymphocytes can differentiate into distinct Th cell types such as Th1, Th2, Treg, Th17, Th22, Th9, and Tfh within the context of certain cytokines environment. Growing evidence indicated that Th1/Th2 imbalance may greatly participate into the cytokine network of OLP immunopathology. In addition, Th1/Th2 imbalance can be regulated by the Treg subset and also greatly influenced by the emerging novel CD4(+) Th subset Th17. Furthermore, the presence of novel subsets Th22, Th9 and Tfh in OLP patients is yet to be clarified. All these Th subsets and their specific cytokines may play a critical role in determining the character, extent and duration of immune responses in OLP pathogenesis. Therefore, we review the roles of distinct CD4(+) Th subsets and their signature cytokines in determining disease severity and susceptibility of OLP and also reveal the novel therapeutic strategies based on T lymphocytes subsets in OLP treatment. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Ontogeny of surface markers on functionally distinct T cell subsets in the chicken.
Traill, K N; Böck, G; Boyd, R L; Ratheiser, K; Wick, G
1984-01-01
Three subsets of chicken peripheral T cells (T1, T2 and T3) have been identified in peripheral blood of adult chickens on the basis of fluorescence intensity after staining with certain xenogeneic anti-thymus cell sera (from turkeys and rabbits). They differentiate between 3-10 weeks of age in parallel with development of responsiveness to the mitogens concanavalin A (Con A), phytohemagglutinin (PHA) and pokeweed mitogen (PWM). Functional tests on the T subsets, sorted with a fluorescence-activated cell sorter, have shown that T2, 3 cells respond to Con A, PHA and PWM and are capable of eliciting a graft-vs.-host reaction (GvHR). In contrast, although T1 cells respond to Con A, they respond poorly to PHA and not at all to PWM or in GvHR. There was some indication of cooperation between T1 and T2,3 cells for the PHA response. Parallels between these chicken subsets and helper and suppressor/cytotoxic subsets in mammalian systems are discussed.
Criteria to Extract High-Quality Protein Data Bank Subsets for Structure Users.
Carugo, Oliviero; Djinović-Carugo, Kristina
2016-01-01
It is often necessary to build subsets of the Protein Data Bank to extract structural trends and average values. For this purpose it is mandatory that the subsets are non-redundant and of high quality. The first problem can be solved relatively easily at the sequence level or at the structural level. The second, on the contrary, needs special attention. It is not sufficient, in fact, to consider the crystallographic resolution and other feature must be taken into account: the absence of strings of residues from the electron density maps and from the files deposited in the Protein Data Bank; the B-factor values; the appropriate validation of the structural models; the quality of the electron density maps, which is not uniform; and the temperature of the diffraction experiments. More stringent criteria produce smaller subsets, which can be enlarged with more tolerant selection criteria. The incessant growth of the Protein Data Bank and especially of the number of high-resolution structures is allowing the use of more stringent selection criteria, with a consequent improvement of the quality of the subsets of the Protein Data Bank.
Decoring Behaviour of Chosen Moulding Materials with Alkali Silicate Based Inorganic Binders
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Conev M.
2017-06-01
Full Text Available This paper contains basic information about new processes for cores for cylinder heads production with alkali silicate based inorganic binders. Inorganic binders are coming back to the foreground due to their ecologically friendly nature and new technologies for cores production and new binder systems were developed. Basically these binder systems are modified alkali silicates and therefore they carry some well-known unfavourable properties with their usage. To compensate these disadvantages, the binder systems are working with additives which are most often in powder form and are added in the moulding material. This paper deals with decoring behaviour of different moulding sands as well as the influence of chosen additives on knock-out properties in laboratory terms. For this purpose, specific methods of specimen production are described. Developed methods are then used to compare decoring behaviour of chosen sands and binder systems.
Polewski, Przemyslaw; Yao, Wei; Heurich, Marco; Krzystek, Peter; Stilla, Uwe
2018-06-01
In this study, we present a method for improving the quality of automatic single fallen tree stem segmentation in ALS data by applying a specialized constrained conditional random field (CRF). The entire processing pipeline is composed of two steps. First, short stem segments of equal length are detected and a subset of them is selected for further processing, while in the second step the chosen segments are merged to form entire trees. The first step is accomplished using the specialized CRF defined on the space of segment labelings, capable of finding segment candidates which are easier to merge subsequently. To achieve this, the CRF considers not only the features of every candidate individually, but incorporates pairwise spatial interactions between adjacent segments into the model. In particular, pairwise interactions include a collinearity/angular deviation probability which is learned from training data as well as the ratio of spatial overlap, whereas unary potentials encode a learned probabilistic model of the laser point distribution around each segment. Each of these components enters the CRF energy with its own balance factor. To process previously unseen data, we first calculate the subset of segments for merging on a grid of balance factors by minimizing the CRF energy. Then, we perform the merging and rank the balance configurations according to the quality of their resulting merged trees, obtained from a learned tree appearance model. The final result is derived from the top-ranked configuration. We tested our approach on 5 plots from the Bavarian Forest National Park using reference data acquired in a field inventory. Compared to our previous segment selection method without pairwise interactions, an increase in detection correctness and completeness of up to 7 and 9 percentage points, respectively, was observed.
Random Numbers and Monte Carlo Methods
Scherer, Philipp O. J.
Many-body problems often involve the calculation of integrals of very high dimension which cannot be treated by standard methods. For the calculation of thermodynamic averages Monte Carlo methods are very useful which sample the integration volume at randomly chosen points. After summarizing some basic statistics, we discuss algorithms for the generation of pseudo-random numbers with given probability distribution which are essential for all Monte Carlo methods. We show how the efficiency of Monte Carlo integration can be improved by sampling preferentially the important configurations. Finally the famous Metropolis algorithm is applied to classical many-particle systems. Computer experiments visualize the central limit theorem and apply the Metropolis method to the traveling salesman problem.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Marc B Bigler
Full Text Available Acute stress drives a 'high-alert' response in the immune system. Psychoactive drugs induce distinct stress hormone profiles, offering a sought-after opportunity to dissect the in vivo immunological effects of acute stress in humans.3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, methylphenidate (MPH, or both, were administered to healthy volunteers in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover-study. Lymphocyte subset frequencies, natural killer (NK cell immune-phenotypes, and changes in effector function were assessed, and linked to stress hormone levels and expression of CD62L, CX3CR1, CD18, and stress hormone receptors on NK cells.MDMA/MPH > MDMA > MPH robustly induced an epinephrine-dominant stress response. Immunologically, rapid redistribution of peripheral blood lymphocyte-subsets towards phenotypically mature NK cells occurred. NK cytotoxicity was unaltered, but they expressed slightly reduced levels of the activating receptor NKG2D. Preferential circulation of mature NK cells was associated with high epinephrine receptor expression among this subset, as well as expression of integrin ligands previously linked to epinephrine-induced endothelial detachment.The acute epinephrine-induced stress response was characterized by rapid accumulation of mature and functional NK cells in the peripheral circulation. This is in line with studies using other acute stressors and supports the role of the acute stress response in rapidly mobilizing the innate immune system to counteract incoming threats.
Random catalytic reaction networks
Stadler, Peter F.; Fontana, Walter; Miller, John H.
1993-03-01
We study networks that are a generalization of replicator (or Lotka-Volterra) equations. They model the dynamics of a population of object types whose binary interactions determine the specific type of interaction product. Such a system always reduces its dimension to a subset that contains production pathways for all of its members. The network equation can be rewritten at a level of collectives in terms of two basic interaction patterns: replicator sets and cyclic transformation pathways among sets. Although the system contains well-known cases that exhibit very complicated dynamics, the generic behavior of randomly generated systems is found (numerically) to be extremely robust: convergence to a globally stable rest point. It is easy to tailor networks that display replicator interactions where the replicators are entire self-sustaining subsystems, rather than structureless units. A numerical scan of random systems highlights the special properties of elementary replicators: they reduce the effective interconnectedness of the system, resulting in enhanced competition, and strong correlations between the concentrations.
Data mining a small molecule drug screening representative subset from NIH PubChem.
Xie, Xiang-Qun; Chen, Jian-Zhong
2008-03-01
PubChem is a scientific showcase of the NIH Roadmap Initiatives. It is a compound repository created to facilitate information exchange and data sharing among the NIH Roadmap-funded Molecular Library Screening Center Network (MLSCN) and the scientific community. However, PubChem has more than 10 million records of compound information. It will be challenging to conduct a drug screening of the whole database of millions of compounds. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to develop a data mining cheminformatics approach in order to construct a representative and structure-diverse sublibrary from the large PubChem database. In this study, a new chemical diverse representative subset, rePubChem, was selected by whole-molecule chemistry-space matrix calculation using the cell-based partition algorithm. The representative subset was generated and was then subjected to evaluations by compound property analyses based on 1D and 2D molecular descriptors. The new subset was also examined and assessed for self-similarity analysis based on 2D molecular fingerprints in comparing with the source compound library. The new subset has a much smaller library size (540K compounds) with minimum similarity and redundancy without loss of the structural diversity and basic molecular properties of its parent library (5.3 million compounds). The new representative subset library generated could be a valuable structure-diverse compound resource for in silico virtual screening and in vitro HTS drug screening. In addition, the established subset generation method of using the combined cell-based chemistry-space partition metrics with pairwised 2D fingerprint-based similarity search approaches will also be important to a broad scientific community interested in acquiring structurally diverse compounds for efficient drug screening, building representative virtual combinatorial chemistry libraries for syntheses, and data mining large compound databases like the PubChem library in general.
Studies on the stimulating effect of low dose irradiation on lymphocyte subsets
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Du Zeji; Su Liaoyuan
1994-01-01
In the study, three kinds of monoclonal antibody were used to separate subsets of lymphocyte, and then the functional changes of the separated subsets after low dose irradiation (LDI) were studied. McAb CD4, CD8 and B were used to obtain CD 4 + , CD8 + and B cells respectively with 'Panning' method, the cells were irradiated with X-ray machine (200 kV, 10 mA) for 0, 0.02, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5 Gy. 3 H-TdR incorporation was used to reflect functional changes of subsets after LDI. The results indicated that (1) three kinds of subsets could be stimulated by LDI (within 0.2 Gy). The peak effect for CD 4 + and B cells was induced by 0.1 Gy irradiation for CD8 + cell, the peak effect dose was 0.05 Gy; (2) between 0.02 Gy and 0.2 Gy, for same dose, the stimulating effect of CD4 + was higher than that of CD8 + . This result has an important significance in demonstrating the immune mechanism of radiation hormesis. The past viewpoint suggested that immune hormesis was caused by the damage of radiosensitive T cell (Ts) after LDI. Recently, some authors proved that no change of the ratio of Ts to T H existed after LDI. In the study presented, It is found that the values of 3 H-TdR incorporation in CD4 + was bigger than that in CD8 + after LDI. Obvious stimulating effect could still be observed after 0.2 Gy irradiation, it indicated that subsets separated by McAb could have a wide stimulating dose range for LDI
T-Cell Subsets Predict Mortality in Malnourished Zambian Adults Initiating Antiretroviral Therapy.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Caroline C Chisenga
Full Text Available To estimate the prognostic value of T-cell subsets in Zambian patients initiating antiretroviral therapy (ART, and to assess the impact of a nutritional intervention on T-cell subsets.This was a sub-study of a randomised clinical trial of a nutritional intervention for malnourished adults initiating ART. Participants in a randomised controlled trial (NUSTART trial were enrolled between April and December 2012. Participants received lipid-based nutritional supplement either with or without additional vitamins and minerals. Immunophenotyping was undertaken at baseline and, in survivors, after 12 weeks of ART to characterize T-cell subsets using the markers CD3, CD4, CD8, CD45RA, CCR7, CD28, CD57, CD31, α4β7, Ki67, CD25 and HLA-DR. Univariate and multivariate survival analysis was performed, and responses to treatment were analysed using the Wicoxon rank-sum test.Among 181 adults, 36 (20% died by 12 weeks after starting ART. In univariate analysis, patients who died had fewer proliferating, more naïve and fewer gut homing CD4+ T-cells compared to survivors; and more senescent and fewer proliferating CD8+ T-cells. In a multivariate Cox regression model high naïve CD4+, low proliferating CD4+, high senescent CD8+ and low proliferating CD8+ subsets were independently associated with increased risk of death. Recent CD4+ thymic emigrants increased less between recruitment and 12 weeks of ART in the intervention group compared to the control group.Specific CD4+ T-cell subsets are of considerable prognostic significance for patients initiating ART in Zambia, but only thymic output responded to this nutritional intervention.
Implementation KMES Quality system for acquisition and processing data in chosen foundry
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
R. Sika
2008-08-01
Full Text Available In the paper, main assumptions, algorithms and functions of author’s KMES Quality system are discussed. Its working version is tested in chosen foundry by near 2 years. This system is applied to enlarge the use of chosen technological data accessible during foundry processes. The data can be introduced by means of keyboard directly in the fields (windows present on the PC screen according to program commands, instead of report-manuscripts containing measured results, or from the automated measurement recording system by direct data import to KMES Quality system. In the paper, a way of technological data acquisition with their further integration into main foundry databases and their processing, with taking into consideration e.g. kind of casting assortment, current time, sequences of measurements, are presented. Also the capabilities of linking KMES Quality system with SAP R/3 system existing in this foundry useful to quality assurance is show.
Different Subsets of T Cells, Memory, Effector Functions, and CAR-T Immunotherapy.
Golubovskaya, Vita; Wu, Lijun
2016-03-15
This review is focused on different subsets of T cells: CD4 and CD8, memory and effector functions, and their role in CAR-T therapy--a cellular adoptive immunotherapy with T cells expressing chimeric antigen receptor. The CAR-T cells recognize tumor antigens and induce cytotoxic activities against tumor cells. Recently, differences in T cell functions and the role of memory and effector T cells were shown to be important in CAR-T cell immunotherapy. The CD4⁺ subsets (Th1, Th2, Th9, Th17, Th22, Treg, and Tfh) and CD8⁺ memory and effector subsets differ in extra-cellular (CD25, CD45RO, CD45RA, CCR-7, L-Selectin [CD62L], etc.); intracellular markers (FOXP3); epigenetic and genetic programs; and metabolic pathways (catabolic or anabolic); and these differences can be modulated to improve CAR-T therapy. In addition, CD4⁺ Treg cells suppress the efficacy of CAR-T cell therapy, and different approaches to overcome this suppression are discussed in this review. Thus, next-generation CAR-T immunotherapy can be improved, based on our knowledge of T cell subsets functions, differentiation, proliferation, and signaling pathways to generate more active CAR-T cells against tumors.
Different Subsets of T Cells, Memory, Effector Functions, and CAR-T Immunotherapy
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Vita Golubovskaya
2016-03-01
Full Text Available This review is focused on different subsets of T cells: CD4 and CD8, memory and effector functions, and their role in CAR-T therapy––a cellular adoptive immunotherapy with T cells expressing chimeric antigen receptor. The CAR-T cells recognize tumor antigens and induce cytotoxic activities against tumor cells. Recently, differences in T cell functions and the role of memory and effector T cells were shown to be important in CAR-T cell immunotherapy. The CD4+ subsets (Th1, Th2, Th9, Th17, Th22, Treg, and Tfh and CD8+ memory and effector subsets differ in extra-cellular (CD25, CD45RO, CD45RA, CCR-7, L-Selectin [CD62L], etc.; intracellular markers (FOXP3; epigenetic and genetic programs; and metabolic pathways (catabolic or anabolic; and these differences can be modulated to improve CAR-T therapy. In addition, CD4+ Treg cells suppress the efficacy of CAR-T cell therapy, and different approaches to overcome this suppression are discussed in this review. Thus, next-generation CAR-T immunotherapy can be improved, based on our knowledge of T cell subsets functions, differentiation, proliferation, and signaling pathways to generate more active CAR-T cells against tumors.
Subset-row inequalities applied to the vehicle routing problem with time windows
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Jepsen, Mads Kehlet; Petersen, Bjørn; Spoorendonk, Simon
2008-01-01
constraints as the pricing problem. We introduce the subset-row inequalities, which are Chvatal-Gomory rank-1 cuts based on a subset of the constraints in the master problem. Applying a subset-row inequality in the master problem increases the complexity of the label-setting algorithm used to solve......This paper presents a branch-and-cut-and-price algorithm for the vehicle-routing problem with time windows. The standard Dantzig-Wolfe decomposition of the arc flow formulation leads to a set-partitioning problem as the master problem and an elementary shortest-path problem with resource...... the pricing problem because an additional resource is added for each inequality. We propose a modified dominance criterion that makes it possible to dominate more labels by exploiting the step-like structure of the objective function of the pricing problem. Computational experiments have been performed...
Freely Chosen Index Finger Tapping Frequency Is Increased in Repeated Bouts of Tapping.
Hansen, Ernst Albin; Ebbesen, Brian Duborg; Dalsgaard, Ane; Mora-Jensen, Mark Holten; Rasmussen, Jakob
2015-01-01
Healthy individuals (n = 40) performed index finger tapping at freely chosen frequency during repeated bouts and before and after near-maximal muscle action consisting of 3 intense flexions of the index finger metacarpal phalangeal joint. One experiment showed, unexpectedly, that a bout of tapping increased the tapping frequency in the subsequent bout. Thus, a cumulating increase of 8.2 ± 5.4% (p tapping frequency was still increased in consecutive bouts when rest periods were extended to 20 min. Besides, near-maximal muscle activation, followed by 5 min rest, did not affect the tapping frequency. In conclusion, freely chosen tapping frequency was increased in repeated bouts of tapping, which were separated by 10-20 min rest periods. The observed phenomenon is suggested to be termed repeated bout rate enhancement.
Defining an essence of structure determining residue contacts in proteins.
Sathyapriya, R; Duarte, Jose M; Stehr, Henning; Filippis, Ioannis; Lappe, Michael
2009-12-01
The network of native non-covalent residue contacts determines the three-dimensional structure of a protein. However, not all contacts are of equal structural significance, and little knowledge exists about a minimal, yet sufficient, subset required to define the global features of a protein. Characterisation of this "structural essence" has remained elusive so far: no algorithmic strategy has been devised to-date that could outperform a random selection in terms of 3D reconstruction accuracy (measured as the Ca RMSD). It is not only of theoretical interest (i.e., for design of advanced statistical potentials) to identify the number and nature of essential native contacts-such a subset of spatial constraints is very useful in a number of novel experimental methods (like EPR) which rely heavily on constraint-based protein modelling. To derive accurate three-dimensional models from distance constraints, we implemented a reconstruction pipeline using distance geometry. We selected a test-set of 12 protein structures from the four major SCOP fold classes and performed our reconstruction analysis. As a reference set, series of random subsets (ranging from 10% to 90% of native contacts) are generated for each protein, and the reconstruction accuracy is computed for each subset. We have developed a rational strategy, termed "cone-peeling" that combines sequence features and network descriptors to select minimal subsets that outperform the reference sets. We present, for the first time, a rational strategy to derive a structural essence of residue contacts and provide an estimate of the size of this minimal subset. Our algorithm computes sparse subsets capable of determining the tertiary structure at approximately 4.8 A Ca RMSD with as little as 8% of the native contacts (Ca-Ca and Cb-Cb). At the same time, a randomly chosen subset of native contacts needs about twice as many contacts to reach the same level of accuracy. This "structural essence" opens new avenues in the
Optimum unambiguous discrimination between subsets of nonorthogonal quantum states
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Sun Yuqing; Hillery, Mark; Bergou, Janos A.
2002-01-01
It is known that unambiguous discrimination among nonorthogonal but linearly independent quantum states is possible with a certain probability of success. Here, we consider a variant of that problem. Instead of discriminating among all of the different states, we shall only discriminate between two subsets of them. In particular, for the case of three nonorthogonal states, { vertical bar ψ 1 >, vertical bar ψ 2 >, vertical bar ψ 3 >}, we show that the optimal strategy to distinguish vertical bar ψ 1 > from the set { vertical bar ψ 2 >, vertical bar ψ 3 >} has a higher success rate than if we wish to discriminate among all three states. Somewhat surprisingly, for unambiguous discrimination the subsets need not be linearly independent. A fully analytical solution is presented, and we also show how to construct generalized interferometers (multiport) which provide an optical implementation of the optimal strategy
Van, H.L.; Dekker, J.J.M.; Koelen, J.; Kool, S.; van Aalst, G.; Hendriksen, I.J.M.; Peen, J.; Schoevers, R.A.
2009-01-01
Depressed patients randomized to psychotherapy were compared with those who had been chosen for psychotherapy in a treatment algorithm, including addition of an antidepressant in case of early nonresponse. There were no differences between randomized and by-preference patients at baseline in
Yavorska, Olena O; Burgess, Stephen
2017-12-01
MendelianRandomization is a software package for the R open-source software environment that performs Mendelian randomization analyses using summarized data. The core functionality is to implement the inverse-variance weighted, MR-Egger and weighted median methods for multiple genetic variants. Several options are available to the user, such as the use of robust regression, fixed- or random-effects models and the penalization of weights for genetic variants with heterogeneous causal estimates. Extensions to these methods, such as allowing for variants to be correlated, can be chosen if appropriate. Graphical commands allow summarized data to be displayed in an interactive graph, or the plotting of causal estimates from multiple methods, for comparison. Although the main method of data entry is directly by the user, there is also an option for allowing summarized data to be incorporated from the PhenoScanner database of genotype-phenotype associations. We hope to develop this feature in future versions of the package. The R software environment is available for download from [https://www.r-project.org/]. The MendelianRandomization package can be downloaded from the Comprehensive R Archive Network (CRAN) within R, or directly from [https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/MendelianRandomization/]. Both R and the MendelianRandomization package are released under GNU General Public Licenses (GPL-2|GPL-3). © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association.
Changes in T-cell subsets after radiation therapy
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Yang, S.J.; Rafla, S.; Youssef, E.; Selim, H.; Salloum, N.; Chuang, J.Y.
1988-01-01
The T-cell subsets of 129 patients with cancer were counted before and after radiation therapy. The cells were labeled with monoclonal antibodies that were specific for each type of T cell. Significant changes after therapy were decreases in the proportion of T-helper/inducer cells, pan-T cells, and in the ratio of T-helper/inducer to T-suppressor/cytotoxic cells. There was an increase in the percentage of T-suppressor/cytotoxic cells. When the site of the primary cancer was considered, genitourinary cancer and cancer of the head and neck both showed a decreased percentage of T-helper/inducer cells and a reduced ratio of T-helper/inducer to T-suppressor/cytotoxic cells. The percentage of pan-T cells in head and neck cancer and the ratio of T-helper/inducer to T-suppressor/cytotoxic cells in breast cancer were decreased. The percentage of T-helper cells was particularly decreased by radiation therapy in advanced stages of cancer, in higher grade tumors, and in larger tumors. The absolute numbers of various T-cell subsets were decreased in all groups
Mast cell subsets and neuropeptides in leprosy reactions
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Antunes Sérgio Luiz Gomes
2003-01-01
Full Text Available The immunohistochemical identification of neuropeptides (calcitonin gene-related peptide, vasoactive intestinal polypeptide, substance P, alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone and gamma-melanocyte stimulating hormone quantification of mast cells and their subsets (tryptase/chymase-immunoreactive mast cells = TCMC and tryptase-immunoreactive mast cells = TMC were determined in biopsies of six patients with leprosy reactions (three patients with type I reaction and three with type II. Biopsies were compared with those taken from the same body site in the remission stage of the same patient. We found a relative increase of TMC in the inflammatory infiltrate of the reactional biopsies compared to the post-reactional biopsy. Also, the total number of mast cells and the TMC/TCMC ratio in the inflammatory infiltrate was significantly higher than in the intervening dermis of the biopsies of both periods. No significant difference was found regarding neuroptide expression in the reactional and post-reactional biopsies. The relative increase of TMC in the reactional infiltrates could implicate this mast cell subset in the reported increase of the immune response in leprosy reactions.
Selection of morphological features of pollen grains for chosen tree taxa
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Agnieszka Kubik-Komar
2018-05-01
Full Text Available The basis of aerobiological studies is to monitor airborne pollen concentrations and pollen season timing. This task is performed by appropriately trained staff and is difficult and time consuming. The goal of this research is to select morphological characteristics of grains that are the most discriminative for distinguishing between birch, hazel and alder taxa and are easy to determine automatically from microscope images. This selection is based on the split attributes of the J4.8 classification trees built for different subsets of features. Determining the discriminative features by this method, we provide specific rules for distinguishing between individual taxa, at the same time obtaining a high percentage of correct classification. The most discriminative among the 13 morphological characteristics studied are the following: number of pores, maximum axis, minimum axis, axes difference, maximum oncus width, and number of lateral pores. The classification result of the tree based on this subset is better than the one built on the whole feature set and it is almost 94%. Therefore, selection of attributes before tree building is recommended. The classification results for the features easiest to obtain from the image, i.e. maximum axis, minimum axis, axes difference, and number of lateral pores, are only 2.09 pp lower than those obtained for the complete set, but 3.23 pp lower than the results obtained for the selected most discriminating attributes only.
Influence of random setup error on dose distribution
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Zhai Zhenyu
2008-01-01
Objective: To investigate the influence of random setup error on dose distribution in radiotherapy and determine the margin from ITV to PTV. Methods: A random sample approach was used to simulate the fields position in target coordinate system. Cumulative effect of random setup error was the sum of dose distributions of all individual treatment fractions. Study of 100 cumulative effects might get shift sizes of 90% dose point position. Margins from ITV to PTV caused by random setup error were chosen by 95% probability. Spearman's correlation was used to analyze the influence of each factor. Results: The average shift sizes of 90% dose point position was 0.62, 1.84, 3.13, 4.78, 6.34 and 8.03 mm if random setup error was 1,2,3,4,5 and 6 mm,respectively. Univariate analysis showed the size of margin was associated only by the size of random setup error. Conclusions: Margin of ITV to PTV is 1.2 times random setup error for head-and-neck cancer and 1.5 times for thoracic and abdominal cancer. Field size, energy and target depth, unlike random setup error, have no relation with the size of the margin. (authors)
Malicet, Dominique
2017-12-01
In this paper, we study random walks {g_n=f_{n-1}\\ldots f_0} on the group Homeo ( S 1) of the homeomorphisms of the circle, where the homeomorphisms f k are chosen randomly, independently, with respect to a same probability measure {ν}. We prove that under the only condition that there is no probability measure invariant by {ν}-almost every homeomorphism, the random walk almost surely contracts small intervals. It generalizes what has been known on this subject until now, since various conditions on {ν} were imposed in order to get the phenomenon of contractions. Moreover, we obtain the surprising fact that the rate of contraction is exponential, even in the lack of assumptions of smoothness on the f k 's. We deduce various dynamical consequences on the random walk ( g n ): finiteness of ergodic stationary measures, distribution of the trajectories, asymptotic law of the evaluations, etc. The proof of the main result is based on a modification of the Ávila-Viana's invariance principle, working for continuous cocycles on a space fibred in circles.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Lerner AM
2012-11-01
Full Text Available A Martin Lerner,1 Safedin Beqaj21Department of Medicine, Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, Rochester, MI, USA; 2Pathology Inc, Torrance, CA, USAAbstract: A systematic 2001–2007 review of 142 chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS patients identified 106 CFS patients with elevated serum IgG antibodies to the herpesviruses Epstein–Barr virus (EBV, cytomegalovirus, or human herpesvirus (HHV 6 in single or multiple infections, with no other co-infections detected. We named these 106 patients group-A CFS. Eighty-six of these 106 group-A CFS patients (81% had elevated EBV early antibody, early antigen (diffuse, serum titers. A small group of six patients in the group-A EBV subset of CFS, additionally, had repetitive elevated-serum titers of antibody to the early lytic replication-encoded proteins, EBV dUTPase, and EBV DNA polymerase. The presence of these serum antibodies to EBV dUTPase and EBV DNA polymerase indicated EBV abortive lytic replication in these 6 CFS patients. None of 20 random control people (age- and sex-matched, with blood drawn at a commercial laboratory had elevated serum titers of antibody to EBV dUTPase or EBV DNA polymerase (P < 0.01. This finding needs verification in a larger group of EBV CFS subset patients, but if corroborated, it may represent a molecular marker for diagnosing the EBV subset of CFS. We review evidence that EBV abortive lytic replication with unassembled viral proteins in the blood may be the same in infectious mononucleosis (IM and a subset of CFS. EBV-abortive lytic replication in tonsil plasma cells is dominant in IM. No complete lytic virion is in the blood of IM or CFS patients. Complications of CFS and IM include cardiomyopathy and encephalopathy. Circulating abortive lytic-encoded EBV proteins (eg, EBV dUTPase, EBV DNA polymerase, and others may be common to IM and CFS. The intensity and duration of the circulating EBV-encoded proteins might differentiate the IM and EBV subsets of CFS
The detection of influential subsets in linear regression using an influence matrix
Peña, Daniel; Yohai, Víctor J.
1991-01-01
This paper presents a new method to identify influential subsets in linear regression problems. The procedure uses the eigenstructure of an influence matrix which is defined as the matrix of uncentered covariance of the effect on the whole data set of deleting each observation, normalized to include the univariate Cook's statistics in the diagonal. It is shown that points in an influential subset will appear with large weight in at least one of the eigenvector linked to the largest eigenvalue...
Core Hunter 3: flexible core subset selection.
De Beukelaer, Herman; Davenport, Guy F; Fack, Veerle
2018-05-31
Core collections provide genebank curators and plant breeders a way to reduce size of their collections and populations, while minimizing impact on genetic diversity and allele frequency. Many methods have been proposed to generate core collections, often using distance metrics to quantify the similarity of two accessions, based on genetic marker data or phenotypic traits. Core Hunter is a multi-purpose core subset selection tool that uses local search algorithms to generate subsets relying on one or more metrics, including several distance metrics and allelic richness. In version 3 of Core Hunter (CH3) we have incorporated two new, improved methods for summarizing distances to quantify diversity or representativeness of the core collection. A comparison of CH3 and Core Hunter 2 (CH2) showed that these new metrics can be effectively optimized with less complex algorithms, as compared to those used in CH2. CH3 is more effective at maximizing the improved diversity metric than CH2, still ensures a high average and minimum distance, and is faster for large datasets. Using CH3, a simple stochastic hill-climber is able to find highly diverse core collections, and the more advanced parallel tempering algorithm further increases the quality of the core and further reduces variability across independent samples. We also evaluate the ability of CH3 to simultaneously maximize diversity, and either representativeness or allelic richness, and compare the results with those of the GDOpt and SimEli methods. CH3 can sample equally representative cores as GDOpt, which was specifically designed for this purpose, and is able to construct cores that are simultaneously more diverse, and either are more representative or have higher allelic richness, than those obtained by SimEli. In version 3, Core Hunter has been updated to include two new core subset selection metrics that construct cores for representativeness or diversity, with improved performance. It combines and outperforms the
Sturhan, Henrik; Ungern-Sternberg, Saskia N I v; Langer, Harald; Gawaz, Meinrad; Geisler, Tobias; May, Andreas E; Seizer, Peter
2015-06-01
The role of individual monocyte subsets in inflammatory cardiovascular diseases is insufficiently understood. Although the Extracellular Matrix Metalloproteinase Inducer (EMMPRIN) regulates important processes for inflammation such as MMP-release, its expression and regulation on monocyte subsets has not been characterized. In this clinical study, blood was obtained from 80 patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD), 49 with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and 34 healthy controls. Monocytes were divided into 3 subsets: CD14(++)CD16(-) (low), CD14(++)CD16(+) (intermediate), CD14(+)CD16(++) (high) according to phenotypic markers analyzed by flow cytometry. Surface expression of EMMPRIN was evaluated and compared with CD36 and CD47 expression. In all patients, EMMPRIN expression was significantly different among monocyte subsets with the highest expression on "classical" CD14(++)CD16(-) monocytes. EMMPRIN was upregulated on all monocyte subsets in patients with AMI as compared to patients with stable CAD. Notably, neither CD47 nor CD36 revealed a significant difference in patients with AMI compared to patients with stable CAD. EMMPRIN could serve as a marker for classical monocytes, which is upregulated in patients with acute myocardial infarction. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
B-cell subset alterations and correlated factors in HIV-1 infection.
Pensieroso, Simone; Galli, Laura; Nozza, Silvia; Ruffin, Nicolas; Castagna, Antonella; Tambussi, Giuseppe; Hejdeman, Bo; Misciagna, Donatella; Riva, Agostino; Malnati, Mauro; Chiodi, Francesca; Scarlatti, Gabriella
2013-05-15
During HIV-1 infection, the development, phenotype, and functionality of B cells are impaired. Transitional B cells and aberrant B-cell populations arise in blood, whereas a declined percentage of resting memory B cells is detected. Our study aimed at pinpointing the demographic, immunological, and viral factors driving these pathological findings, and the role of antiretroviral therapy in reverting these alterations. B-cell phenotype and correlating factors were evaluated. Variations in B-cell subsets were evaluated by flow cytometry in HIV-1-infected individuals naive to therapy, elite controllers, and patients treated with antiretroviral drugs (virological control or failure). Multivariable analysis was performed to identify variables independently associated with the B-cell alterations. Significant differences were observed among patients' groups in relation to all B-cell subsets. Resting memory B cells were preserved in patients naive to therapy and elite controllers, but reduced in treated patients. Individuals naive to therapy and experiencing multidrug failure, as well as elite controllers, had significantly higher levels of activated memory B cells compared to healthy controls. In the multivariate analysis, plasma viral load and nadir CD4 T cells independently correlated with major B-cell alterations. Coinfection with hepatitis C but not hepatitis B virus also showed an impact on specific B-cell subsets. Successful protracted antiretroviral treatment led to normalization of all B-cell subsets with exception of resting memory B cells. Our results indicate that viremia and nadir CD4 T cells are important prognostic markers of B-cell perturbations and provide evidence that resting memory B-cell depletion during chronic infection is not reverted upon successful antiretroviral therapy.
Towards Qualifiable Code Generation from a Clocked Synchronous Subset of Modelica
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Bernhard Thiele
2015-01-01
Full Text Available So far no qualifiable automatic code generators (ACGs are available for Modelica. Hence, digital control applications can be modeled and simulated in Modelica, but require tedious additional efforts (e.g., manual reprogramming to produce qualifiable target system production code. In order to more fully leverage the potential of a model-based development (MBD process in Modelica, a qualifiable automatic code generator is needed. Typical Modelica code generation is a fairly complex process which imposes a huge development burden to any efforts of tool qualification. This work aims at mapping a Modelica subset for digital control function development to a well-understood synchronous data-flow kernel language. This kernel language allows to resort to established compilation techniques for data-flow languages which are understood enough to be accepted by certification authorities. The mapping is established by providing a translational semantics from the Modelica subset to the synchronous data-flow kernel language. However, this translation turned out to be more intricate than initially expected and has given rise to several interesting issues that require suitable design decisions regarding the mapping and the language subset.
The use of load patterns to identify residential customers in a chosen area
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Michalik, G.; Lech, M.; Mielczarski, W. [Monash Univ., Clayton, VIC (Australia). Centre for Electrical Power Engineering
1995-12-31
Information on customers` categories and energy use patterns is a basis for the development of any Demand Side Management program. This paper presents an application of energy consumption patterns to identification of customers in a chosen area. Customers have been segmented into four main categories with six subgroups in each category. A total pattern of energy use can be achieved by the combination of characteristic patterns for each subgroup with multiplication by the number of customers in each subgroup. The paper proposes to apply characteristic patterns developed and nonlinear programming techniques to identify customers in a chosen area from patterns measured at distribution feeders. The procedure can be applied as an alternative to surveys and measurements at the mains of particular customers but may also be implemented as an accompanying system to verify results from other procedures of customer identification. (author). 1 tab., 6 figs., 4 refs.
Reduction of the Random Variables of the Turbulent Wind Field
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Sichani, Mahdi Teimouri; Nielsen, Søren R.K.
2012-01-01
.e. Importance Sampling (IS) or Subset Simulation (SS), will be deteriorated on problems with many random variables. The problem with PDEM is that a multidimensional integral has to be carried out over the space defined by the random variables of the system. The numerical procedure requires discretization......Applicability of the Probability Density Evolution Method (PDEM) for realizing evolution of the probability density for the wind turbines has rather strict bounds on the basic number of the random variables involved in the model. The efficiency of most of the Advanced Monte Carlo (AMC) methods, i...... of the integral domain; this becomes increasingly difficult as the dimensions of the integral domain increase. On the other hand efficiency of the AMC methods is closely dependent on the design points of the problem. Presence of many random variables may increase the number of the design points, hence affects...
Statistics of stationary points of random finite polynomial potentials
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Mehta, Dhagash; Niemerg, Matthew; Sun, Chuang
2015-01-01
The stationary points (SPs) of the potential energy landscapes (PELs) of multivariate random potentials (RPs) have found many applications in many areas of Physics, Chemistry and Mathematical Biology. However, there are few reliable methods available which can find all the SPs accurately. Hence, one has to rely on indirect methods such as Random Matrix theory. With a combination of the numerical polynomial homotopy continuation method and a certification method, we obtain all the certified SPs of the most general polynomial RP for each sample chosen from the Gaussian distribution with mean 0 and variance 1. While obtaining many novel results for the finite size case of the RP, we also discuss the implications of our results on mathematics of random systems and string theory landscapes. (paper)
Regularity of random attractors for fractional stochastic reaction-diffusion equations on Rn
Gu, Anhui; Li, Dingshi; Wang, Bixiang; Yang, Han
2018-06-01
We investigate the regularity of random attractors for the non-autonomous non-local fractional stochastic reaction-diffusion equations in Hs (Rn) with s ∈ (0 , 1). We prove the existence and uniqueness of the tempered random attractor that is compact in Hs (Rn) and attracts all tempered random subsets of L2 (Rn) with respect to the norm of Hs (Rn). The main difficulty is to show the pullback asymptotic compactness of solutions in Hs (Rn) due to the noncompactness of Sobolev embeddings on unbounded domains and the almost sure nondifferentiability of the sample paths of the Wiener process. We establish such compactness by the ideas of uniform tail-estimates and the spectral decomposition of solutions in bounded domains.
Climate change impacts on chosen activities from the energy sector
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Fonte Hernandez, Aramis; Rivero Vega, Roger
2006-01-01
The present work, results of a study carried out about the possible impact of climate change on the energy sector in the province Camaguey are shown. First of all, the main activities in companies, utilities, and farms related to the most significant energy consumption were chosen in order to model corresponding equivalent fuel consumption. Impacts were determined taking into account differences between present and future consumptions for each kind of energy. In developed countries, this kind of work is done using well-known empirical-statistical models, which usually require a lot of data at a nation-wide scale, but to attempt it in an undeveloped country demands the use of specific methodology, which in this case was non-existent and required us to create it. This resulted in a carefully posed question since we had to take into consideration that the spatial scale is only that of a province, and so it was necessary, above all, to study specific characteristics of provincial fuel consumption. We used the Magic-Scengen system and SRES scenarios, and outputs of general circulation models like HadCM2 to obtain values of chosen climatic variables for use in energy consumption regression models, previously developed for each kind of activity in the corresponding companies, firm, and facilities included in the present research. It made possible to estimate energy consumption in each activity at the selected time periods centered at 2020, 2050, and 2080. The study shows that impact could rise the consumption by 2,5% of the present energy level in this territory
A Hybrid Soft Computing Approach for Subset Problems
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Broderick Crawford
2013-01-01
Full Text Available Subset problems (set partitioning, packing, and covering are formal models for many practical optimization problems. A set partitioning problem determines how the items in one set (S can be partitioned into smaller subsets. All items in S must be contained in one and only one partition. Related problems are set packing (all items must be contained in zero or one partitions and set covering (all items must be contained in at least one partition. Here, we present a hybrid solver based on ant colony optimization (ACO combined with arc consistency for solving this kind of problems. ACO is a swarm intelligence metaheuristic inspired on ants behavior when they search for food. It allows to solve complex combinatorial problems for which traditional mathematical techniques may fail. By other side, in constraint programming, the solving process of Constraint Satisfaction Problems can dramatically reduce the search space by means of arc consistency enforcing constraint consistencies either prior to or during search. Our hybrid approach was tested with set covering and set partitioning dataset benchmarks. It was observed that the performance of ACO had been improved embedding this filtering technique in its constructive phase.
Sun, Kai; Alvarez, Maite; Ames, Erik; Barao, Isabel; Chen, Mingyi; Longo, Dan L; Redelman, Doug; Murphy, William J
2012-02-09
Natural killer (NK) cells can mediate the rejection of bone marrow allografts and exist as subsets based on expression of inhibitory/activating receptors that can bind MHC. In vitro data have shown that NK subsets bearing Ly49 receptors for self-MHC class I have intrinsically higher effector function, supporting the hypothesis that NK cells undergo a host MHC-dependent functional education. These subsets also play a role in bone marrow cell (BMC) allograft rejection. Thus far, little in vivo evidence for this preferential licensing across mouse strains with different MHC haplotypes has been shown. We assessed the intrinsic response potential of the different Ly49(+) subsets in BMC rejection by using β2-microglobulin deficient (β2m(-/-)) mice as donors. Using congenic and allogeneic mice as recipients and depleting the different Ly49 subsets, we found that NK subsets bearing Ly49s, which bind "self-MHC" were found to be the dominant subset responsible for β2m(-/-) BMC rejection. This provides in vivo evidence for host MHC class I-dependent functional education. Interestingly, all H2(d) strain mice regardless of background were able to resist significantly greater amounts of β2m(-/-), but not wild-type BMC than H2(b) mice, providing evidence that the rheostat hypothesis regarding Ly49 affinities for MHC and NK-cell function impacts BMC rejection capability.
Subset selection for an epsilon-best population : efficiency results
Laan, van der P.
1991-01-01
An almost best or an \\epsilon-best population is defined as a population with location parameter on a distance not larger than \\epsilon (\\geq 0) from the best population (with largest value of the location parameter). For the subset selection tables with the relative efficiency of selecting an
T-lymphocyte subsets, thymic size and breastfeeding in infancy
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Jeppesen, Dorthe Lisbeth; Hasselbalch, Helle; Lisse, Ida M
2004-01-01
We followed the changes in concentration of T-lymphocyte subsets (CD4+ and CD8+ cells) in peripheral blood and thymus size during infancy. Previous studies have found increased thymus size in breastfed infants. The present study analyzed the association between breastfeeding and the number of CD4...
The expanding universe of T-cell subsets: Th1, Th2 and more.
Mosmann, T R; Sad, S
1996-03-01
Since their discovery nearly ten years ago, T helper 1 (Th1) and Th2 subsets have been implicated in the regulation of many immune responses. In this article, Tim Mosmann and Subash Sad discuss the increasing number of T-cell subsets defined by cytokine patterns; the differentiation pathways of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells; the contribution of other cell types to these patterns; and the cytokine interactions during infection and pregnancy.
ASSESSMENT OF SURFACE QUALITY FOR CHOSEN MILLING STRATEGIES WHEN PRODUCING RELIEF SURFACES
Jan Varga; Jozef Stahovec; Jozef Beno; Marek Vrabeľ
2014-01-01
The paper deals with design and modeling of the relief surfaces that are produced in milling. Modeled and real surface quality is presented for the chosen fragments of the relief surfaces. Fragmentation of the relief surfaces has been made by the surface sampling. Milling strategies are compared with regard to surface formation. Surface quality was checked with regard to applied cutting conditions.
Chemokine-mediated distribution of dendritic cell subsets in renal cell carcinoma
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Meyer Werner
2010-10-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background Renal cell carcinoma (RCC represents one of the most immunoresponsive cancers. Antigen-specific vaccination with dendritic cells (DCs in patients with metastatic RCC has been shown to induce cytotoxic T-cell responses associated with objective clinical responses. Thus, clinical trials utilizing DCs for immunotherapy of advanced RCCs appear to be promising; however, detailed analyses concerning the distribution and function of DC subsets in RCCs are lacking. Methods We characterized the distribution of the different immature and mature myeloid DC subsets in RCC tumour tissue and the corresponding normal kidney tissues. In further analyses, the expression of various chemokines and chemokine receptors controlling the migration of DC subsets was investigated. Results The highest numbers of immature CD1a+ DCs were found within RCC tumour tissue. In contrast, the accumulation of mature CD83+/DC-LAMP+ DCs were restricted to the invasive margin of the RCCs. The mature DCs formed clusters with proliferating T-cells. Furthermore, a close association was observed between MIP-3α-producing tumour cells and immature CCR6+ DC recruitment to the tumour bed. Conversely, MIP-3β and SLC expression was only detected at the tumour border, where CCR7-expressing T-cells and mature DCs formed clusters. Conclusion Increased numbers of immature DCs were observed within the tumour tissue of RCCs, whereas mature DCs were found in increased numbers at the tumour margin. Our results strongly implicate that the distribution of DC subsets is controlled by local lymphoid chemokine expression. Thus, increased expression of MIP-3α favours recruitment of immature DCs to the tumour bed, whereas de novo local expression of SLC and MIP-3β induces accumulation of mature DCs at the tumour margin forming clusters with proliferating T-cells reflecting a local anti-tumour immune response.
Chemokine-mediated distribution of dendritic cell subsets in renal cell carcinoma
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Middel, Peter; Brauneck, Sven; Meyer, Werner; Radzun, Heinz-Joachim
2010-01-01
Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) represents one of the most immunoresponsive cancers. Antigen-specific vaccination with dendritic cells (DCs) in patients with metastatic RCC has been shown to induce cytotoxic T-cell responses associated with objective clinical responses. Thus, clinical trials utilizing DCs for immunotherapy of advanced RCCs appear to be promising; however, detailed analyses concerning the distribution and function of DC subsets in RCCs are lacking. We characterized the distribution of the different immature and mature myeloid DC subsets in RCC tumour tissue and the corresponding normal kidney tissues. In further analyses, the expression of various chemokines and chemokine receptors controlling the migration of DC subsets was investigated. The highest numbers of immature CD1a+ DCs were found within RCC tumour tissue. In contrast, the accumulation of mature CD83+/DC-LAMP+ DCs were restricted to the invasive margin of the RCCs. The mature DCs formed clusters with proliferating T-cells. Furthermore, a close association was observed between MIP-3α-producing tumour cells and immature CCR6+ DC recruitment to the tumour bed. Conversely, MIP-3β and SLC expression was only detected at the tumour border, where CCR7-expressing T-cells and mature DCs formed clusters. Increased numbers of immature DCs were observed within the tumour tissue of RCCs, whereas mature DCs were found in increased numbers at the tumour margin. Our results strongly implicate that the distribution of DC subsets is controlled by local lymphoid chemokine expression. Thus, increased expression of MIP-3α favours recruitment of immature DCs to the tumour bed, whereas de novo local expression of SLC and MIP-3β induces accumulation of mature DCs at the tumour margin forming clusters with proliferating T-cells reflecting a local anti-tumour immune response
Subsetting Tools for Enabling Easy Access to International Airborne Chemistry Data
Northup, E. A.; Chen, G.; Quam, B. M.; Beach, A. L., III; Silverman, M. L.; Early, A. B.
2017-12-01
In response to the Research Opportunities in Earth and Space Science (ROSES) 2015 release announcement for Advancing Collaborative Connections for Earth System Science (ACCESS), researchers at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) proposed to extend the capabilities of the existing Toolsets for Airborne Data (TAD) to include subsetting functionality to allow for easier access to international airborne field campaign data. Airborne field studies are commonly used to gain a detailed understanding of atmospheric processes for scientific research on international climate change and air quality issues. To accommodate the rigorous process for manipulating airborne field study chemistry data, and to lessen barriers for researchers, TAD was created with the ability to geolocate data from various sources measured on different time scales from a single flight. The analysis of airborne chemistry data typically requires data subsetting, which can be challenging and resource-intensive for end users. In an effort to streamline this process, new data subsetting features and updates to the current database model will be added to the TAD toolset. These will include two subsetters: temporal and spatial, and vertical profile. The temporal and spatial subsetter will allow users to both focus on data from a specific location and/or time period. The vertical profile subsetter will retrieve data collected during an individual aircraft ascent or descent spiral. These new web-based tools will allow for automation of the typically labor-intensive manual data subsetting process, which will provide users with data tailored to their specific research interests. The system has been designed to allow for new in-situ airborne missions to be added as they become available, with only minor pre-processing required. The development of these enhancements will be discussed in this presentation.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Genoveva Keustermans
Full Text Available Childhood obesity prevalence has increased worldwide and is an important risk factor for type 2 diabetes (T2D and cardiovascular disease (CVD. The production of inflammatory adipokines by obese adipose tissue contributes to the development of T2D and CVD. While levels of circulating adipokines such as adiponectin and leptin have been established in obese children and adults, the expression of adiponectin and leptin receptors on circulating immune cells can modulate adipokine signalling, but has not been studied so far. Here, we aim to establish the expression of adiponectin and leptin receptors on circulating immune cells in obese children pre and post-lifestyle intervention compared to normal weight control children.13 obese children before and after a 1-year lifestyle intervention were compared with an age and sex-matched normal weight control group of 15 children. Next to routine clinical and biochemical parameters, circulating adipokines were measured, and flow cytometric analysis of adiponectin receptor 1 and 2 (AdipoR1, AdipoR2 and leptin receptor expression on peripheral blood mononuclear cell subsets was performed.Obese children exhibited typical clinical and biochemical characteristics compared to controls, including a higher BMI-SD, blood pressure and circulating leptin levels, combined with a lower insulin sensitivity index (QUICKI. The 1-year lifestyle intervention resulted in stabilization of their BMI-SD. Overall, circulating leukocyte subsets showed distinct adipokine receptor expression profiles. While monocytes expressed high levels of all adipokine receptors, NK and iNKT cells predominantly expressed AdipoR2, and B-lymphocytes and CD4+ and CD8+ T-lymphocyte subsets expressed AdipoR2 as well as leptin receptor. Strikingly though, leukocyte subset numbers and adipokine receptor expression profiles were largely similar in obese children and controls. Obese children showed higher naïve B-cell numbers, and pre-intervention also
Decay of random correlation functions for unimodal maps
Baladi, Viviane; Benedicks, Michael; Maume-Deschamps, Véronique
2000-10-01
Since the pioneering results of Jakobson and subsequent work by Benedicks-Carleson and others, it is known that quadratic maps tfa( χ) = a - χ2 admit a unique absolutely continuous invariant measure for a positive measure set of parameters a. For topologically mixing tfa, Young and Keller-Nowicki independently proved exponential decay of correlation functions for this a.c.i.m. and smooth observables. We consider random compositions of small perturbations tf + ωt, with tf = tfa or another unimodal map satisfying certain nonuniform hyperbolicity axioms, and ωt chosen independently and identically in [-ɛ, ɛ]. Baladi-Viana showed exponential mixing of the associated Markov chain, i.e., averaging over all random itineraries. We obtain stretched exponential bounds for the random correlation functions of Lipschitz observables for the sample measure μωof almost every itinerary.
Individual discriminative face recognition models based on subsets of features
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Clemmensen, Line Katrine Harder; Gomez, David Delgado; Ersbøll, Bjarne Kjær
2007-01-01
The accuracy of data classification methods depends considerably on the data representation and on the selected features. In this work, the elastic net model selection is used to identify meaningful and important features in face recognition. Modelling the characteristics which distinguish one...... person from another using only subsets of features will both decrease the computational cost and increase the generalization capacity of the face recognition algorithm. Moreover, identifying which are the features that better discriminate between persons will also provide a deeper understanding...... of the face recognition problem. The elastic net model is able to select a subset of features with low computational effort compared to other state-of-the-art feature selection methods. Furthermore, the fact that the number of features usually is larger than the number of images in the data base makes feature...
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Janet J Sei
Full Text Available Dendritic cells (DC are multi-functional cells that bridge the gap between innate and adaptive immune systems. In bovine, significant information is lacking on the precise identity and role of peripheral blood DC subsets. In this study, we identify and characterize bovine peripheral blood DC subsets directly ex vivo, without further in vitro manipulation. Multi-color flow cytometric analysis revealed that three DC subsets could be identified. Bovine plasmacytoid DC were phenotypically identified by a unique pattern of cell surface protein expression including CD4, exhibited an extensive endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus, efficiently internalized and degraded exogenous antigen, and were the only peripheral blood cells specialized in the production of type I IFN following activation with Toll-like receptor (TLR agonists. Conventional DC were identified by expression of a different pattern of cell surface proteins including CD11c, MHC class II, and CD80, among others, the display of extensive dendritic protrusions on their plasma membrane, expression of very high levels of MHC class II and co-stimulatory molecules, efficient internalization and degradation of exogenous antigen, and ready production of detectable levels of TNF-alpha in response to TLR activation. Our investigations also revealed a third novel DC subset that may be a precursor of conventional DC that were MHC class II+ and CD11c-. These cells exhibited a smooth plasma membrane with a rounded nucleus, produced TNF-alpha in response to TLR-activation (albeit lower than CD11c+ DC, and were the least efficient in internalization/degradation of exogenous antigen. These studies define three bovine blood DC subsets with distinct phenotypic and functional characteristics which can be analyzed during immune responses to pathogens and vaccinations of cattle.
Sato, Yusuke; Shimizu, Kanako; Shinga, Jun; Hidaka, Michihiro; Kawano, Fumio; Kakimi, Kazuhiro; Yamasaki, Satoru; Asakura, Miki; Fujii, Shin-Ichiro
2015-03-01
Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are a heterogeneous population with the ability to suppress immune responses and are currently classified into three distinct MDSC subsets: monocytic, granulocytic and non-monocytic, and non-granulocytic MDSCs. Although NK cells provide an important first-line defense against newly transformed cancer cells, it is unknown whether NK cells can regulate MDSC populations in the context of cancer. In this study, we initially found that the frequency of MDSCs in non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) patients was increased and inversely correlated with that of NK cells, but not that of T cells. To investigate the regulation of MDSC subsets by NK cells, we used an EL4 murine lymphoma model and found the non-monocytic and non-granulocytic MDSC subset, i.e., Gr1 + CD11b + Ly6G med Ly6C med MDSC, is increased after NK cell depletion. The MDSC population that expresses MHC class II, CD80, CD124, and CCR2 is regulated mainly by CD27 + CD11b + NK cells. In addition, this MDSC subset produces some immunosuppressive cytokines, including IL-10 but not nitric oxide (NO) or arginase. We also examined two subsets of MDSCs (CD14 + HLA-DR - and CD14 - HLA-DR - MDSC) in NHL patients and found that higher IL-10-producing CD14 + HLA-DR - MDSC subset can be seen in lymphoma patients with reduced NK cell frequency in peripheral blood. Our analyses of MDSCs in this study may enable a better understanding of how MDSCs manipulate the tumor microenvironment and are regulated by NK cells in patients with lymphoma.
THE STUDY FOR THE ATTITUDE OF STUDENTS TOWARDS THE CHOSEN PROFESSION OF PHARMACIST
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
J. N. Grigoruk
2015-01-01
Full Text Available The article examines the dynamics of students’ attitude to the profession of pharmacist. Motivation factors for the choice of this profession were described. We have substantiated the stability of professional choice, and studied the satisfaction of students with the chosen profession.
On the efficiency of a randomized mirror descent algorithm in online optimization problems
Gasnikov, A. V.; Nesterov, Yu. E.; Spokoiny, V. G.
2015-04-01
A randomized online version of the mirror descent method is proposed. It differs from the existing versions by the randomization method. Randomization is performed at the stage of the projection of a subgradient of the function being optimized onto the unit simplex rather than at the stage of the computation of a subgradient, which is common practice. As a result, a componentwise subgradient descent with a randomly chosen component is obtained, which admits an online interpretation. This observation, for example, has made it possible to uniformly interpret results on weighting expert decisions and propose the most efficient method for searching for an equilibrium in a zero-sum two-person matrix game with sparse matrix.
Psychological stress during exercise: lymphocyte subset redistribution in firefighters.
Huang, Chun-Jung; Webb, Heather E; Garten, Ryan S; Kamimori, Gary H; Acevedo, Edmund O
2010-10-05
The purpose of this study examined the changes in heart rate (HR), catecholamines (NE, EPI) and percentages of blood lymphocyte subsets (CD3+ T cells, CD3+CD4+ helper T cells, CD3+CD8+ cytotoxic T cells, CD3- CD56+ NK cells, CD4/CD8 ratio, CD19+ B cells, and total lymphocytes [NK cells+T cells+B cells]) in firefighters exposed to a computerized firefighting strategies and tactics decision-making challenge while participating in moderate intensity exercise. Furthermore, this study also examined the possible relationships between catecholamines (NE and EPI) and blood lymphocyte subsets following combined mental and physical challenge. Ten professional male firefighters participated in two counterbalanced exercise conditions on a cycle ergometer: (1) 37min of cycle ergometry at 60% VO(2max) (exercise alone condition; EAC) and (2) 37min of cycle ergometry at 60% VO(2max) along with 20min of a computerized firefighting strategies and tactics decision-making challenge (firefighting strategies condition; FSC). FSC elicited significantly greater HR, NE, and EPI when compared to EAC. Both EAC and FSC elicited increases in CD3- CD56+ NK cells. The percentages of CD3+ T cells, CD3+CD4+ helper T cells, CD4/CD8 ratio, CD19+ B cells, and total lymphocytes were lower immediately following both conditions. Following dual challenge NE AUC was negatively correlated with percentage of CD19+ B cells immediately post challenge, and HR was negatively associated with the percent change in the CD4/CD8 ratio from pre to post challenge. These elevations in NE and heart rate simultaneously in response to the dual challenge suggest greater sympathetic activation that in turn would possibly explain the alteration in the distribution of lymphocyte subsets. Published by Elsevier Inc.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Andrew Cron
Full Text Available Flow cytometry is the prototypical assay for multi-parameter single cell analysis, and is essential in vaccine and biomarker research for the enumeration of antigen-specific lymphocytes that are often found in extremely low frequencies (0.1% or less. Standard analysis of flow cytometry data relies on visual identification of cell subsets by experts, a process that is subjective and often difficult to reproduce. An alternative and more objective approach is the use of statistical models to identify cell subsets of interest in an automated fashion. Two specific challenges for automated analysis are to detect extremely low frequency event subsets without biasing the estimate by pre-processing enrichment, and the ability to align cell subsets across multiple data samples for comparative analysis. In this manuscript, we develop hierarchical modeling extensions to the Dirichlet Process Gaussian Mixture Model (DPGMM approach we have previously described for cell subset identification, and show that the hierarchical DPGMM (HDPGMM naturally generates an aligned data model that captures both commonalities and variations across multiple samples. HDPGMM also increases the sensitivity to extremely low frequency events by sharing information across multiple samples analyzed simultaneously. We validate the accuracy and reproducibility of HDPGMM estimates of antigen-specific T cells on clinically relevant reference peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC samples with known frequencies of antigen-specific T cells. These cell samples take advantage of retrovirally TCR-transduced T cells spiked into autologous PBMC samples to give a defined number of antigen-specific T cells detectable by HLA-peptide multimer binding. We provide open source software that can take advantage of both multiple processors and GPU-acceleration to perform the numerically-demanding computations. We show that hierarchical modeling is a useful probabilistic approach that can provide a
Instability in time-delayed switched systems induced by fast and random switching
Guo, Yao; Lin, Wei; Chen, Yuming; Wu, Jianhong
2017-07-01
In this paper, we consider a switched system comprising finitely or infinitely many subsystems described by linear time-delayed differential equations and a rule that orchestrates the system switching randomly among these subsystems, where the switching times are also randomly chosen. We first construct a counterintuitive example where even though all the time-delayed subsystems are exponentially stable, the behaviors of the randomly switched system change from stable dynamics to unstable dynamics with a decrease of the dwell time. Then by using the theories of stochastic processes and delay differential equations, we present a general result on when this fast and random switching induced instability should occur and we extend this to the case of nonlinear time-delayed switched systems as well.
The regulatory roles of B cell subsets in transplantation.
Chu, Zhulang; Zou, Weilong; Xu, Yanan; Sun, Qiquan; Zhao, Yong
2018-02-01
B cells mediate allograft rejection through antigen presentation, and production of cytokines and antibodies. More and more immunosuppressive agents specifically targeting B cells and plasma cells have been applied in clinical transplantation. However, recent studies have indicated the regulatory roles of B cells. Therefore, it is vital to clarify the different effects of B cell subsets in organ transplantation so that we can completely understand the diverse functions of B cells in transplantation. Areas covered: This review focuses on the regulatory roles of B cells in transplantation. B cell subsets with immune modulation and factors mediating immunosuppressive functions of regulatory B (Breg) cells were analyzed. Therapies targeting B cells and the application of B cells for transplant tolerance induction were discussed. Expert commentary: Besides involving rejection, B cells could also play regulatory roles in transplantation. Breg cells and the related markers may be used to predict the immune tolerant state in transplant recipients. New therapeutic strategies targeting B cells should be explored to promote tolerance induction with less impact on the host's protective immunity in organ transplanted patients.
Cho, Jae-Ho; Sprent, Jonathan
2018-05-01
After selection in the thymus, the post-thymic T cell compartments comprise heterogenous subsets of naive and memory T cells that make continuous T cell receptor (TCR) contact with self-ligands bound to major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules. T cell recognition of self-MHC ligands elicits covert TCR signaling and is particularly important for controlling survival of naive T cells. Such tonic TCR signaling is tightly controlled and maintains the cells in a quiescent state to avoid autoimmunity. Here, we review how naive and memory T cells are differentially tuned and wired for TCR sensitivity to self and foreign ligands. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Estimation of functional failure probability of passive systems based on subset simulation method
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Wang Dongqing; Wang Baosheng; Zhang Jianmin; Jiang Jing
2012-01-01
In order to solve the problem of multi-dimensional epistemic uncertainties and small functional failure probability of passive systems, an innovative reliability analysis algorithm called subset simulation based on Markov chain Monte Carlo was presented. The method is found on the idea that a small failure probability can be expressed as a product of larger conditional failure probabilities by introducing a proper choice of intermediate failure events. Markov chain Monte Carlo simulation was implemented to efficiently generate conditional samples for estimating the conditional failure probabilities. Taking the AP1000 passive residual heat removal system, for example, the uncertainties related to the model of a passive system and the numerical values of its input parameters were considered in this paper. And then the probability of functional failure was estimated with subset simulation method. The numerical results demonstrate that subset simulation method has the high computing efficiency and excellent computing accuracy compared with traditional probability analysis methods. (authors)
Cai, Lun; Yu, Lei; Liu, Sa; Li, Tongxun; Zhang, Xiaoping; Cui, Wei; Du, Jie; Zhang, Qinyi
2017-02-01
Accumulating evidence shows that immune cells play an important role in carotid atherosclerotic plaque development. In this study, we assessed the association of 6 different natural killer T (NKT) cell subsets, based on CD57 and CD8 expression, with risk for development of carotid atherosclerotic plaque (CAP). Molecular expression by peripheral NKT cells was evaluated in 13 patients with high-risk CAP and control without carotid stenosis (n = 18). High-risk CAP patients, compared with healthy subjects, had less percentage of CD57+CD8- NKT cell subsets (8.64 ± 10.15 versus 19.62 ± 10.8 %; P = 0.01) and CD57+CD8int NKT cell subsets (4.32 ± 3.04 versus 11.87 ± 8.56 %; P = 0.002), with a corresponding increase in the CD57-CD8high NKT cell subsets (33.22 ± 11.87 versus 18.66 ± 13.68 %; P = 0.007). Intracellular cytokine staining showed that CD8+ NKT cell subset was the main cytokine-producing NKT cell. Cytokine production in plasma was measured with Bio-Plex assay. The expression levels of pro-inflammatory mediators (IFN-γ, IL-17, IP-10) were significantly higher in CAP patients as compared to that from controls. These data provide evidence that NKT cell subset compartment reconfiguration in patients with carotid stenosis seems to be associated with the occurrence of carotid atherosclerotic plaque and suggest that both pathogenic and protective NKT cell subsets exist.
Massively-parallel best subset selection for ordinary least-squares regression
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Gieseke, Fabian; Polsterer, Kai Lars; Mahabal, Ashish
2017-01-01
Selecting an optimal subset of k out of d features for linear regression models given n training instances is often considered intractable for feature spaces with hundreds or thousands of dimensions. We propose an efficient massively-parallel implementation for selecting such optimal feature...
Direct magnitude estimates of speech intelligibility in dysarthria: effects of a chosen standard.
Weismer, Gary; Laures, Jacqueline S
2002-06-01
Direct magnitude estimation (DME) has been used frequently as a perceptual scaling technique in studies of the speech intelligibility of persons with speech disorders. The technique is typically used with a standard, or reference stimulus, chosen as a good exemplar of "midrange" intelligibility. In several published studies, the standard has been chosen subjectively, usually on the basis of the expertise of the investigators. The current experiment demonstrates that a fixed set of sentence-level utterances, obtained from 4 individuals with dysarthria (2 with Parkinson disease, 2 with traumatic brain injury) as well as 3 neurologically normal speakers, is scaled differently depending on the identity of the standard. Four different standards were used in the main experiment, three of which were judged qualitatively in two independent evaluations to be good exemplars of midrange intelligibility. Acoustic analyses did not reveal obvious differences between these four standards but suggested that the standard with the worst-scaled intelligibility had much poorer voice source characteristics compared to the other three standards. Results are discussed in terms of possible standardization of midrange intelligibility exemplars for DME experiments.
Analysis of Peripheral B Cell Subsets in Patients With Allergic Rhinitis.
Luo, Jing; Guo, Huanhuan; Liu, Zhuofu; Peng, Tao; Hu, Xianting; Han, Miaomiao; Yang, Xiangping; Zhou, Xuhong; Li, Huabin
2018-05-01
Recent evidence suggests that B cells can both promote and inhibit the development and progression of allergic disease. However, the characteristics of B cell subsets in patients with allergic rhinitis (AR) have not been well documented. This study aimed to analyze the characteristics of B cell subsets in the peripheral blood of AR patients. Forty-seven AR patients and 54 healthy controls were enrolled in this study, and the B cell subsets in peripheral blood of all subjects were analyzed by flow cytometry. Moreover, the serum total immunoglobulin E (IgE) and IgE concentrations secreted into the cultured peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were measured by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We found the peripheral blood of AR patients contained higher percentages of memory B cells, plasma cells, and CD19⁺CD24(hi)CD27⁺ regulatory B cells (Bregs) than those of age-matched healthy controls (PB cells and CD19⁺CD24(hi)CD38(hi) Bregs were significantly lower in AR patients than in healthy individuals (PB cells or plasma cells and decreases in CD19⁺CD24(hi)CD38(hi) Breg cells in the peripheral blood. Copyright © 2018 The Korean Academy of Asthma, Allergy and Clinical Immunology · The Korean Academy of Pediatric Allergy and Respiratory Disease.
The total graph of a module with respect to multiplicative-prime subsets
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
H. Heydarinejad Astaneh
2014-09-01
Full Text Available Let M be a module over a commutative ring R and U a nonempty proper subset of M. In this paper, a generalization of the total graph T(Γ(M, denoted by T(Γ_U (M is presented, where U is a multiplicative prime subset of M. It is the graph with all elements of M as vertices, and for two distinct elements m, n ∈ M, the vertices m and n are adjacent if and only if m + n ∈ U. The main purpose of this paper is to extend the definitions and properties given in [1] and [10] to a more general case.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Muhammad Latif Anjum
2017-01-01
Full Text Available We present a robust algorithm for complex human activity recognition for natural human-robot interaction. The algorithm is based on tracking the position of selected joints in human skeleton. For any given activity, only a few skeleton joints are involved in performing the activity, so a subset of joints contributing the most towards the activity is selected. Our approach of tracking a subset of skeleton joints (instead of tracking the whole skeleton is computationally efficient and provides better recognition accuracy. We have developed both manual and automatic approaches for the selection of these joints. The position of the selected joints is tracked for the duration of the activity and is used to construct feature vectors for each activity. Once the feature vectors have been constructed, we use a Support Vector Machines (SVM multiclass classifier for training and testing the algorithm. The algorithm has been tested on a purposely built dataset of depth videos recorded using Kinect camera. The dataset consists of 250 videos of 10 different activities being performed by different users. Experimental results show classification accuracy of 83% when tracking all skeleton joints, 95% when using manual selection of subset joints, and 89% when using automatic selection of subset joints.
Phenotypic and functional characterization of earthworm coelomocyte subsets
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Engelmann, Péter; Hayashi, Yuya; Bodo, Kornélia
2016-01-01
Flow cytometry is a common approach to study invertebrate immune cells including earthworm coelomocytes. However, the link between light-scatter- and microscopy-based phenotyping remains obscured. Here we show, by means of light scatter-based cell sorting, both subpopulations (amoebocytes...... amoebocytes and eleocytes, with the former being in favor of bacterial engulfment. This study has proved successful in linking flow cytometry and microscopy analysis and provides further experimental evidence of phenotypic and functional heterogeneity in earthworm coelomocyte subsets....
Random-Resistor-Random-Temperature Kirchhoff-Law-Johnson-Noise (RRRT-KLJN Key Exchange
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Kish Laszlo B.
2016-03-01
Full Text Available We introduce two new Kirchhoff-law-Johnson-noise (KLJN secure key distribution schemes which are generalizations of the original KLJN scheme. The first of these, the Random-Resistor (RR- KLJN scheme, uses random resistors with values chosen from a quasi-continuum set. It is well-known since the creation of the KLJN concept that such a system could work in cryptography, because Alice and Bob can calculate the unknown resistance value from measurements, but the RR-KLJN system has not been addressed in prior publications since it was considered impractical. The reason for discussing it now is the second scheme, the Random Resistor Random Temperature (RRRT- KLJN key exchange, inspired by a recent paper of Vadai, Mingesz and Gingl, wherein security was shown to be maintained at non-zero power flow. In the RRRT-KLJN secure key exchange scheme, both the resistances and their temperatures are continuum random variables. We prove that the security of the RRRT-KLJN scheme can prevail at a non-zero power flow, and thus the physical law guaranteeing security is not the Second Law of Thermodynamics but the Fluctuation-Dissipation Theorem. Alice and Bob know their own resistances and temperatures and can calculate the resistance and temperature values at the other end of the communication channel from measured voltage, current and power-flow data in the wire. However, Eve cannot determine these values because, for her, there are four unknown quantities while she can set up only three equations. The RRRT-KLJN scheme has several advantages and makes all former attacks on the KLJN scheme invalid or incomplete.
Multiplicity of summands in the random partitions of an integer
Indian Academy of Sciences (India)
We prove that the probability that there is a summand of multiplicity j in any randomly chosen partition or composition of an integer n goes to zero asymptotically with n provided j is larger than a critical value. As a corollary, we strengthen a result due to Erdös and Lehner (Duke. Math. J. 8 (1941) 335–345) that concerns the ...
Sherman, Stephen E; Kuljanin, Miljan; Cooper, Tyler T; Putman, David M; Lajoie, Gilles A; Hess, David A
2017-06-01
During culture expansion, multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) differentially express aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), an intracellular detoxification enzyme that protects long-lived cells against oxidative stress. Thus, MSC selection based on ALDH-activity may be used to reduce heterogeneity and distinguish MSC subsets with improved regenerative potency. After expansion of human bone marrow-derived MSCs, cell progeny was purified based on low versus high ALDH-activity (ALDH hi ) by fluorescence-activated cell sorting, and each subset was compared for multipotent stromal and provascular regenerative functions. Both ALDH l ° and ALDH hi MSC subsets demonstrated similar expression of stromal cell (>95% CD73 + , CD90 + , CD105 + ) and pericyte (>95% CD146 + ) surface markers and showed multipotent differentiation into bone, cartilage, and adipose cells in vitro. Conditioned media (CDM) generated by ALDH hi MSCs demonstrated a potent proliferative and prosurvival effect on human microvascular endothelial cells (HMVECs) under serum-free conditions and augmented HMVEC tube-forming capacity in growth factor-reduced matrices. After subcutaneous transplantation within directed in vivo angiogenesis assay implants into immunodeficient mice, ALDH hi MSC or CDM produced by ALDH hi MSC significantly augmented murine vascular cell recruitment and perfused vessel infiltration compared with ALDH l ° MSC. Although both subsets demonstrated strikingly similar mRNA expression patterns, quantitative proteomic analyses performed on subset-specific CDM revealed the ALDH hi MSC subset uniquely secreted multiple proangiogenic cytokines (vascular endothelial growth factor beta, platelet derived growth factor alpha, and angiogenin) and actively produced multiple factors with chemoattractant (transforming growth factor-β, C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 1, 2, and 3 (GRO), C-C motif chemokine ligand 5 (RANTES), monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP-1), interleukin [IL]-6, IL-8) and matrix
Monocyte Subsets in Schistosomiasis Patients with Periportal Fibrosis
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jamille Souza Fernandes
2014-01-01
Full Text Available A major issue with Schistosoma mansoni infection is the development of periportal fibrosis, which is predominantly caused by the host immune response to egg antigens. Experimental studies have pointed to the participation of monocytes in the pathogenesis of liver fibrosis. The aim of this study was to characterize the subsets of monocytes in individuals with different degrees of periportal fibrosis secondary to schistosomiasis. Monocytes were classified into classical (CD14++CD16−, intermediate (CD14++CD16+, and nonclassical (CD14+CD16++. The expressions of monocyte markers and cytokines were assessed using flow cytometry. The frequency of classical monocytes was higher than the other subsets. The expression of HLA-DR, IL-6, TNF-α, and TGF-β was higher in monocytes from individuals with moderate to severe fibrosis as compared to other groups. Although no differences were observed in receptors expression (IL-4R and IL-10R between groups of patients, the expression of IL-12 was lower in monocytes from individuals with moderate to severe fibrosis, suggesting a protective role of this cytokine in the development of fibrosis. Our data support the hypothesis that the three different monocyte populations participate in the immunopathogenesis of periportal fibrosis, since they express high levels of proinflammatory and profibrotic cytokines and low levels of regulatory markers.
Selecting a climate model subset to optimise key ensemble properties
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
N. Herger
2018-02-01
Full Text Available End users studying impacts and risks caused by human-induced climate change are often presented with large multi-model ensembles of climate projections whose composition and size are arbitrarily determined. An efficient and versatile method that finds a subset which maintains certain key properties from the full ensemble is needed, but very little work has been done in this area. Therefore, users typically make their own somewhat subjective subset choices and commonly use the equally weighted model mean as a best estimate. However, different climate model simulations cannot necessarily be regarded as independent estimates due to the presence of duplicated code and shared development history. Here, we present an efficient and flexible tool that makes better use of the ensemble as a whole by finding a subset with improved mean performance compared to the multi-model mean while at the same time maintaining the spread and addressing the problem of model interdependence. Out-of-sample skill and reliability are demonstrated using model-as-truth experiments. This approach is illustrated with one set of optimisation criteria but we also highlight the flexibility of cost functions, depending on the focus of different users. The technique is useful for a range of applications that, for example, minimise present-day bias to obtain an accurate ensemble mean, reduce dependence in ensemble spread, maximise future spread, ensure good performance of individual models in an ensemble, reduce the ensemble size while maintaining important ensemble characteristics, or optimise several of these at the same time. As in any calibration exercise, the final ensemble is sensitive to the metric, observational product, and pre-processing steps used.
Selecting a climate model subset to optimise key ensemble properties
Herger, Nadja; Abramowitz, Gab; Knutti, Reto; Angélil, Oliver; Lehmann, Karsten; Sanderson, Benjamin M.
2018-02-01
End users studying impacts and risks caused by human-induced climate change are often presented with large multi-model ensembles of climate projections whose composition and size are arbitrarily determined. An efficient and versatile method that finds a subset which maintains certain key properties from the full ensemble is needed, but very little work has been done in this area. Therefore, users typically make their own somewhat subjective subset choices and commonly use the equally weighted model mean as a best estimate. However, different climate model simulations cannot necessarily be regarded as independent estimates due to the presence of duplicated code and shared development history. Here, we present an efficient and flexible tool that makes better use of the ensemble as a whole by finding a subset with improved mean performance compared to the multi-model mean while at the same time maintaining the spread and addressing the problem of model interdependence. Out-of-sample skill and reliability are demonstrated using model-as-truth experiments. This approach is illustrated with one set of optimisation criteria but we also highlight the flexibility of cost functions, depending on the focus of different users. The technique is useful for a range of applications that, for example, minimise present-day bias to obtain an accurate ensemble mean, reduce dependence in ensemble spread, maximise future spread, ensure good performance of individual models in an ensemble, reduce the ensemble size while maintaining important ensemble characteristics, or optimise several of these at the same time. As in any calibration exercise, the final ensemble is sensitive to the metric, observational product, and pre-processing steps used.
Cytokine profile and lymphocyte subsets in type 2 diabetes
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
C.O. Francisco
2016-01-01
Full Text Available Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D is a metabolic disease with inflammation as an important pathogenic background. However, the pattern of immune cell subsets and the cytokine profile associated with development of T2D are unclear. The objective of this study was to evaluate different components of the immune system in T2D patients' peripheral blood by quantifying the frequency of lymphocyte subsets and intracellular pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine production by T cells. Clinical data and blood samples were collected from 22 men (51.6±6.3 years old with T2D and 20 nonsmoking men (49.4±7.6 years old who were matched for age and sex as control subjects. Glycated hemoglobin, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein concentrations, and the lipid profile were measured by a commercially available automated system. Frequencies of lymphocyte subsets in peripheral blood and intracellular production of interleukin (IL-4, IL-10, IL-17, tumor necrosis factor-α, and interferon-γ cytokines by CD3+ T cells were assessed by flow cytometry. No differences were observed in the frequency of CD19+ B cells, CD3+CD8+ and CD3+CD4+ T cells, CD16+56+ NK cells, and CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ T regulatory cells in patients with T2D compared with controls. The numbers of IL-10- and IL-17-producing CD3+ T cells were significantly higher in patients with T2D than in controls (P<0.05. The frequency of interferon-γ-producing CD3+ T cells was positively correlated with body mass index (r=0.59; P=0.01. In conclusion, this study shows increased numbers of circulating IL-10- and IL-17-producing CD3+ T cells in patients with T2D, suggesting that these cytokines are involved in the immune pathology of this disease.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Erik Benson
2004-01-01
Full Text Available During the late I920s and early 1930s, Pan American Airways became known as the U.S. “chosen instrument” for international commercial aviation. Most scholarly work about the U.S. government/Pan Am relationship presents the airline as the government’s instrument. This article challenges this traditional perspective. In certain ways Pan Am was an “instrument,” yet in others it defied such categorization. Thus, any notion that Pan Am was a “chosen instrument” merits qualification. Drawing upon the “corporatist” historical model, this study will present a more sophisticated account of this relationship, one that considers the role of business elites in shaping U.S. policy.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Suad Kapetanovic
Full Text Available We examined the effect of cytomegalovirus (CMV co-infection and viremia on reconstitution of selected CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell subsets in perinatally HIV-infected (PHIV+ children ≥ 1-year old who participated in a partially randomized, open-label, 96-week combination antiretroviral therapy (cART-algorithm study.Participants were categorized as CMV-naïve, CMV-positive (CMV+ viremic, and CMV+ aviremic, based on blood, urine, or throat culture, CMV IgG and DNA polymerase chain reaction measured at baseline. At weeks 0, 12, 20 and 40, T-cell subsets including naïve (CD62L+CD45RA+; CD95-CD28+, activated (CD38+HLA-DR+ and terminally differentiated (CD62L-CD45RA+; CD95+CD28- CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells were measured by flow cytometry.Of the 107 participants included in the analysis, 14% were CMV+ viremic; 49% CMV+ aviremic; 37% CMV-naïve. In longitudinal adjusted models, compared with CMV+ status, baseline CMV-naïve status was significantly associated with faster recovery of CD8+CD62L+CD45RA+% and CD8+CD95-CD28+% and faster decrease of CD8+CD95+CD28-%, independent of HIV VL response to treatment, cART regimen and baseline CD4%. Surprisingly, CMV status did not have a significant impact on longitudinal trends in CD8+CD38+HLA-DR+%. CMV status did not have a significant impact on any CD4+ T-cell subsets.In this cohort of PHIV+ children, the normalization of naïve and terminally differentiated CD8+ T-cell subsets in response to cART was detrimentally affected by the presence of CMV co-infection. These findings may have implications for adjunctive treatment strategies targeting CMV co-infection in PHIV+ children, especially those that are now adults or reaching young adulthood and may have accelerated immunologic aging, increased opportunistic infections and aging diseases of the immune system.
Kapetanovic, Suad; Aaron, Lisa; Montepiedra, Grace; Anthony, Patricia; Thuvamontolrat, Kasalyn; Pahwa, Savita; Burchett, Sandra; Weinberg, Adriana; Kovacs, Andrea
2015-01-01
We examined the effect of cytomegalovirus (CMV) co-infection and viremia on reconstitution of selected CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell subsets in perinatally HIV-infected (PHIV+) children ≥ 1-year old who participated in a partially randomized, open-label, 96-week combination antiretroviral therapy (cART)-algorithm study. Participants were categorized as CMV-naïve, CMV-positive (CMV+) viremic, and CMV+ aviremic, based on blood, urine, or throat culture, CMV IgG and DNA polymerase chain reaction measured at baseline. At weeks 0, 12, 20 and 40, T-cell subsets including naïve (CD62L+CD45RA+; CD95-CD28+), activated (CD38+HLA-DR+) and terminally differentiated (CD62L-CD45RA+; CD95+CD28-) CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells were measured by flow cytometry. Of the 107 participants included in the analysis, 14% were CMV+ viremic; 49% CMV+ aviremic; 37% CMV-naïve. In longitudinal adjusted models, compared with CMV+ status, baseline CMV-naïve status was significantly associated with faster recovery of CD8+CD62L+CD45RA+% and CD8+CD95-CD28+% and faster decrease of CD8+CD95+CD28-%, independent of HIV VL response to treatment, cART regimen and baseline CD4%. Surprisingly, CMV status did not have a significant impact on longitudinal trends in CD8+CD38+HLA-DR+%. CMV status did not have a significant impact on any CD4+ T-cell subsets. In this cohort of PHIV+ children, the normalization of naïve and terminally differentiated CD8+ T-cell subsets in response to cART was detrimentally affected by the presence of CMV co-infection. These findings may have implications for adjunctive treatment strategies targeting CMV co-infection in PHIV+ children, especially those that are now adults or reaching young adulthood and may have accelerated immunologic aging, increased opportunistic infections and aging diseases of the immune system.
SOCP relaxation bounds for the optimal subset selection problem applied to robust linear regression
Flores, Salvador
2015-01-01
This paper deals with the problem of finding the globally optimal subset of h elements from a larger set of n elements in d space dimensions so as to minimize a quadratic criterion, with an special emphasis on applications to computing the Least Trimmed Squares Estimator (LTSE) for robust regression. The computation of the LTSE is a challenging subset selection problem involving a nonlinear program with continuous and binary variables, linked in a highly nonlinear fashion. The selection of a ...
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Li Guo
2016-07-01
Full Text Available Objective: To explore the effect of edaravone on T lymphocyte subsets and oxidative stress level in patients with cardiogenic cerebral embolism. Methods: A total of 100 patients with cardiogenic cerebral embolism who were admitted in our hospital from June, 2013 to June, 2015 were included in the study and randomized into the observation group and the control group. The patients in the observation group were given edaravone, while the patients in the control group were given the conventional treatments. CD4, CD8, GSH-Px, and ROS levels, the occurrence of adverse reactions, and the clinical efficacy after treatment in the two groups were observed and compared. Results: The comparison of CD4 and CD8 levels before treatment between the two groups was not statistically significant (P>0.05. After treatment, CD4 level was significantly elevated, while CD8 level was significantly reduced when compared with before treatment (P0.05. After treatment, GSH-Px level was significantly elevated, while ROS level was significantly reduced when compared with before treatment (P<0.05. The improvement of GSH-Px and ROS levels after treatment in the observation group was significantly superior to that in the control group (P<0.05. The occurrence rate of adverse reactions in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group, while the treatment effective rate was significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.05. Conclusions: Edaravone in the treatment of cardiogenic cerebral embolism can effectively correct the imbalance of T lymphocyte subsets, and reduce the oxidative stress level, with less adverse reactions and significant therapeutic effect.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Mehranian, Abolfazl; Kotasidis, Fotis; Zaidi, Habib
2016-01-01
Time-of-flight (TOF) positron emission tomography (PET) technology has recently regained popularity in clinical PET studies for improving image quality and lesion detectability. Using TOF information, the spatial location of annihilation events is confined to a number of image voxels along each line of response, thereby the cross-dependencies of image voxels are reduced, which in turns results in improved signal-to-noise ratio and convergence rate. In this work, we propose a novel approach to further improve the convergence of the expectation maximization (EM)-based TOF PET image reconstruction algorithm through subsetization of emission data over TOF bins as well as azimuthal bins. Given the prevalence of TOF PET, we elaborated the practical and efficient implementation of TOF PET image reconstruction through the pre-computation of TOF weighting coefficients while exploiting the same in-plane and axial symmetries used in pre-computation of geometric system matrix. In the proposed subsetization approach, TOF PET data were partitioned into a number of interleaved TOF subsets, with the aim of reducing the spatial coupling of TOF bins and therefore to improve the convergence of the standard maximum likelihood expectation maximization (MLEM) and ordered subsets EM (OSEM) algorithms. The comparison of on-the-fly and pre-computed TOF projections showed that the pre-computation of the TOF weighting coefficients can considerably reduce the computation time of TOF PET image reconstruction. The convergence rate and bias-variance performance of the proposed TOF subsetization scheme were evaluated using simulated, experimental phantom and clinical studies. Simulations demonstrated that as the number of TOF subsets is increased, the convergence rate of MLEM and OSEM algorithms is improved. It was also found that for the same computation time, the proposed subsetization gives rise to further convergence. The bias-variance analysis of the experimental NEMA phantom and a clinical
A search engine to access PubMed monolingual subsets: proof of concept and evaluation in French.
Griffon, Nicolas; Schuers, Matthieu; Soualmia, Lina Fatima; Grosjean, Julien; Kerdelhué, Gaétan; Kergourlay, Ivan; Dahamna, Badisse; Darmoni, Stéfan Jacques
2014-12-01
PubMed contains numerous articles in languages other than English. However, existing solutions to access these articles in the language in which they were written remain unconvincing. The aim of this study was to propose a practical search engine, called Multilingual PubMed, which will permit access to a PubMed subset in 1 language and to evaluate the precision and coverage for the French version (Multilingual PubMed-French). To create this tool, translations of MeSH were enriched (eg, adding synonyms and translations in French) and integrated into a terminology portal. PubMed subsets in several European languages were also added to our database using a dedicated parser. The response time for the generic semantic search engine was evaluated for simple queries. BabelMeSH, Multilingual PubMed-French, and 3 different PubMed strategies were compared by searching for literature in French. Precision and coverage were measured for 20 randomly selected queries. The results were evaluated as relevant to title and abstract, the evaluator being blind to search strategy. More than 650,000 PubMed citations in French were integrated into the Multilingual PubMed-French information system. The response times were all below the threshold defined for usability (2 seconds). Two search strategies (Multilingual PubMed-French and 1 PubMed strategy) showed high precision (0.93 and 0.97, respectively), but coverage was 4 times higher for Multilingual PubMed-French. It is now possible to freely access biomedical literature using a practical search tool in French. This tool will be of particular interest for health professionals and other end users who do not read or query sufficiently in English. The information system is theoretically well suited to expand the approach to other European languages, such as German, Spanish, Norwegian, and Portuguese.
Lymphocytic subsets and low-dose exposure
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Tuschl, H.; Kovac, R.; Eybl, E.
1993-03-01
The present investigations proved the differential radiosensitivity of lymphocytic subpopulations: From in vivo and in vitro irradiations it may be followed that the most sensitive subset are CD8 positive suppressor T cells. CD4/CD8 ratios are increased both in peripheral blood and after mitogen stimulation of lymphocytes of exposed persons. The decrease in B cells is pronounced only at higher radiation doses. Though the rate of DNA synthesis after mitogen stimulation was reduced in some exposed persons, that was no general phenomenon. Especially after tritium exposure, the observed lymphopenia correlated with an increased stimulation by PHA and an increased rate of DNA synthesis in some probands. Thus the present investigations indicate that - despite an inhibition of some immune parameters by radioexposure - the body is able to maintain its immunological homoeostasis. (authors)
Selective effects of alpha interferon on human T-lymphocyte subsets during mixed lymphocyte cultures
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Hokland, M; Hokland, P; Heron, I
1983-01-01
Mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) cultures of human lymphocyte subsets with or without the addition of physiological doses of human alpha interferon (IFN-alpha) were compared with respect to surface marker phenotypes and proliferative capacities of the responder cells. A selective depression on the T...... T4 cells and decreased numbers of T4 cells harvested from IFN MLRs (days 5-6 of culture). In contrast, it was shown that the T8 (cytotoxic/suppressor) subset in MLRs was either not affected or slightly stimulated by the addition of IFN. The depression of the T4 cells by IFN was accompanied...... by a decrease in the number of activated T cells expressing Ia antigens. On the other hand, IFN MLRs contained greater numbers of cells expressing the T10 differentiation antigen. In experiments with purified T-cell subsets the IFN effect was exerted directly on the T4 cells and not mediated by either T8...
Evaluation of chosen determinants of the positive practice environments (PPE at Polish nursing wards
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Dorota Kilańska
2016-04-01
Full Text Available Background: At many Polish hospitals, insufficient attention is given to positive work environment. In many cases nurses, similarly to the representatives of other professional groups, are not provided with facilities or tools to perform their professional tasks in safe conditions. The aspects of recruitment and retention of employees are often ignored. The aim of this study has been to assess the chosen determinants of work environment of nurses in Poland using the concept of the Positive Practice Environments (PPE. Material and Methods: The survey was carried out from 2008 to 2011 among 1049 nursing students of 3 randomly selected public medical universities that provided nursing education at the graduate level of the Master of Science. All the people qualified for the study group were practising nurses or midwives. The Polish Nursing Association coordinated the project, obtained the tool, translated it and adjusted it to the Polish conditions. The areas covered in the survey were: a place of employment, selected physical and social elements influencing the work conditions, and biographical information. Results: Access to as many as 8 factors identified as attributes of friendly environments was found unsatisfactory by over 50% of the nurses. For the purpose of objective assessment, the results were compared with the results obtained in the group of nurses in England. Conclusions: The majority of the surveyed nurses were not satisfied with their work environments. Polish nurse managers should ensure that aspects of recognized attributes of friendly, positive practice environments for nurses are established to support nurses’ satisfaction as a pre-condition for patients’ safety. Med Pr 2016;67(1:11–19
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Hansen, Ernst Albin; Jensen, Kurt; Hallen, Jostein
2009-01-01
at preset pedal rates as well as resulting in lower pedal rate and metabolic response at freely chosen pedal rate. Ten trained cyclists (mean+/-SD: 27+/-3 years of age, 182+/-4 cm tall, 77.5+/-7.0 kg of body mass, and peak oxygen uptake of 61.7+/-4.4 ml kg(-1) min(-1)) cycled with a Biopace and a circular...... chain wheel at 180 W at 65 and 90 rpm for recording of crank torque profiles, and at their freely chosen pedal rate for recording of pedal rate and metabolic response, including oxygen uptake and blood lactate concentration. Crank torque profiles were similar between the two chain wheels during cycling...... at preset pedal rates. During cycling at the freely chosen pedal rate (being 93+/-6 and 93+/-4 rpm for the Biopace and circular chain wheel, respectively), blood lactate concentration was significantly different between the two chain wheels, being on average 0.2 mmol l(-1) lower with the Biopace chain wheel...
Carvajal Alegria, Guillermo; Devauchelle-Pensec, Valérie; Renaudineau, Yves; Saraux, Alain; Pers, Jacques-Olivier; Cornec, Divi
2017-08-01
The aim was to study lymphocyte subsets and circulating cytokines at diagnosis of PMR and after tocilizumab monotherapy. Eighteen untreated patients with PMR were included in a prospective study and received 3-monthly tocilizumab infusions without glucocorticoids. Lymphocyte subset distribution was assessed by flow cytometry and serum cytokines were assayed by a 34-cytokine array and ELISA, at baseline and during follow-up. Baseline data were also compared with age- and sex-matched controls. At baseline, total lymphocytes, T-cell subsets and NK cell counts were similar in patients and controls, but patients had significantly lower B-cell counts attributable to lower transitional, naïve and post-switch memory B-cell subsets. Circulating B-cell counts were positively correlated with the PMR activity score (PMR-AS) in untreated active patients at baseline, but subsequently increased to normal values while disease activity was controlled after tocilizumab therapy. Among serum cytokines, IL-6 showed the largest concentration difference between patients and controls, and the serum IL-6 concentration was correlated with baseline PMR-AS. The effects of tocilizumab on serum IL-6 concentration were heterogeneous, and the patients whose serum IL-6 decreased after tocilizumab therapy exhibited a significant increase in circulating B-cell counts. In patients with PMR, B-cell lymphopenia and abnormal B-cell subset distribution are associated with disease activity and IL-6 concentration, and both are corrected by the IL-6 antagonist tocilizumab. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Rheumatology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com
NKT-cell subsets: promoters and protectors in inflammatory liver disease.
Kumar, Vipin
2013-09-01
Natural killer T cells (NKT) are innate-like cells which are abundant in liver sinusoids and express the cell surface receptors of NK cells (e.g., NK1.1 (mouse) or CD161+/CD56+(human)) as well as an antigen receptor (TCR) characteristic of conventional T cells. NKT cells recognize lipid antigens in the context of CD1d, a non-polymorphic MHC class I-like molecule. Activation of NKT cells has a profound influence on the immune response against tumors and infectious organisms and in autoimmune diseases. NKT cells can be categorized into at least two distinct subsets: iNKT or type I use a semi-invariant TCR, whereas type II NKT TCRs are more diverse. Recent evidence suggests that NKT-cell subsets can play opposing roles early in non-microbial liver inflammation in that type I NKT are proinflammatory whereas type II NKT cells inhibit type I NKT-mediated liver injury. Copyright © 2013 European Association for the Study of the Liver. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Buus, Terkild Brink; Ødum, Niels; Geisler, Carsten
2017-01-01
-producing γδ T cells (γδNKT). Developmental progression towards both IFN-γ-producing subsets can be induced by TCR signalling, and each pathway results in thymic emigration at a different stage. Finally, we show that γδT1 cells are the predominating IFN-γ-producing subset developing in the adult thymus. Thus......, this study maps out three distinct development pathways that result in the programming of γδTn, γδT1 and γδNKT cells.......Murine γδ T cells include subsets that are programmed for distinct effector functions during their development in the thymus. Under pathological conditions, different γδ T cell subsets can be protective or can exacerbate a disease. Here we show that CD117, CD200 and CD371, together with other...
POLDER/Parasol L2 Radiation Budget subset along CloudSat track V001 (PARASOLRB_CPR) at GES DISC
National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This is the POLDER/Parasol Level-2 Radiation Budget Subset, collocated with the CloudSat track. The subset is processed at the A-Train Data Depot of the GES DISC,...
Scaling laws for file dissemination in P2P networks with random contacts
Nunez-Queija, R.; Prabhu, B.
2008-01-01
In this paper we obtain the scaling law for the mean broadcast time of a file in a P2P network with an initial population of N nodes. In the model, at Poisson rate λ a node initiates a contact with another node chosen uniformly at random. This contact is said to be successful if the contacted node
Scaling laws for file dissemination in P2P networks with random contacts
Núñez-Queija, R.; Prabhu, B.
2008-01-01
In this paper we obtain the scaling law for the mean broadcast time of a file in a P2P network with an initial population of N nodes. In the model, at Poisson rate lambda a node initiates a contact with another node chosen uniformly at random. This contact is said to be successful if the contacted
Generalised Wigner surmise for (2 X 2) random matrices
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Chau Huu-Tai, P.; Van Isacker, P.; Smirnova, N.A.
2001-01-01
We present new analytical results concerning the spectral distributions for (2 x 2) random real symmetric matrices which generalize the Wigner surmise. The study of the statistical properties of spectra of realistic many-body Hamiltonians requires consideration of a random matrix ensemble whose elements are not independent or whose distribution is not invariant under orthogonal transformation of a chosen basis. In this letter we have concentrated on the properties of (2 x 2) real symmetric matrices whose elements are independent Gaussian variables with zero means but do not belong to the GOE. We have derived the distribution of eigenvalues for such a matrix, the nearest-neighbour spacing distribution which generalizes the Wigner surmise and we have calculated some important moments. (authors)
Stinchcombe, Eric J.; Lupker, Stephen J.; Davis, Colin J.
2012-01-01
Three experiments are reported investigating the role of letter order in orthographic subset priming (e.g., "grdn"-GARDEN) using both the conventional masked priming technique as well as the sandwich priming technique in a lexical decision task. In all three experiments, subset primes produced priming with the effect being considerably…
Golden Ratio Versus Pi as Random Sequence Sources for Monte Carlo Integration
Sen, S. K.; Agarwal, Ravi P.; Shaykhian, Gholam Ali
2007-01-01
We discuss here the relative merits of these numbers as possible random sequence sources. The quality of these sequences is not judged directly based on the outcome of all known tests for the randomness of a sequence. Instead, it is determined implicitly by the accuracy of the Monte Carlo integration in a statistical sense. Since our main motive of using a random sequence is to solve real world problems, it is more desirable if we compare the quality of the sequences based on their performances for these problems in terms of quality/accuracy of the output. We also compare these sources against those generated by a popular pseudo-random generator, viz., the Matlab rand and the quasi-random generator ha/ton both in terms of error and time complexity. Our study demonstrates that consecutive blocks of digits of each of these numbers produce a good random sequence source. It is observed that randomly chosen blocks of digits do not have any remarkable advantage over consecutive blocks for the accuracy of the Monte Carlo integration. Also, it reveals that pi is a better source of a random sequence than theta when the accuracy of the integration is concerned.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
V. A. Chumakov
2006-01-01
Full Text Available Abstract. In glioblastoma (GB, it is necessary to take into consideration GB-associated secondary immunodeficiency (SID, so-called syndrome of tumor-associated SID (STASID. Cell subsets having effector and regulatory functions, play an important role in developing STASID, and their proportions in patients with different forms of GB can be of pathogenetic importance and have clinical value for treatment and rehabilitation scheduling as well. The most pathogenically and clinically important features of cell subsets profile of peripheral blood were analyzed in patients with different clinical and morphological types of GB. The patients were divided into three groups, i.e., groups I and II were formed by patients with STASID (marked and slightly marked SID, accordingly; group III – patients with SIDTAS (tumor-associated autoimmune syndrome, associated with SID. Marked suppression of cell immunity is typical of group I - imbalance in T-lymphocytes, in a number of specific subsets, and in subsets clusters, as well as disproportions in the immunoregulatory indexes. In group II, the subset profiles of blood were slightly different from the norm. In patients with SIDTAS, activation of cell immunity was evident, forming SID with signs of autoimmune syndrome, affecting effector and regulatory chains of immunity, and influencing the severity and forecast of the disease. Specific features of the immune status in patients with GB identified can be resulted from different clinicalmorphological types of the tumor; the latter are to be considered in differential diagnostics of clinical course of GB and in scheduling of clinical-immunological efficient anti-tumor pharmacotherapy in pre- and postoperative periods.
T lymphocyte subsets in prostate cancer subjects in south eastern ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Humoral and cellular mechanisms play roles in immune response to foreign antigens. The present study was designed to determine the T lymphocyte subsets (CD4 + T cells, CD8 + T cells and CD4/CD8 ratio) in the prostate cancer subjects and control subjects. CD4 + T cells (`l/count) and CD8 + T cells (`l/count) were ...
Testing over-representation of observations in subsets of a DEA technology
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Asmild, Mette; Hougaard, Jens Leth; Olesen, Ole Bent
2013-01-01
This paper proposes a test for whether data are over-represented in a given production zone, i.e. a subset of a production possibility set which has been estimated using the non-parametric Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach. A binomial test is used that relates the number of observations...
An efficient algorithm to compute subsets of points in ℤ n
Pacheco Martínez, Ana María; Real Jurado, Pedro
2012-01-01
In this paper we show a more efficient algorithm than that in [8] to compute subsets of points non-congruent by isometries. This algorithm can be used to reconstruct the object from the digital image. Both algorithms are compared, highlighting the improvements obtained in terms of CPU time.
Randomized Block Cubic Newton Method
Doikov, Nikita; Richtarik, Peter
2018-01-01
We study the problem of minimizing the sum of three convex functions: a differentiable, twice-differentiable and a non-smooth term in a high dimensional setting. To this effect we propose and analyze a randomized block cubic Newton (RBCN) method, which in each iteration builds a model of the objective function formed as the sum of the natural models of its three components: a linear model with a quadratic regularizer for the differentiable term, a quadratic model with a cubic regularizer for the twice differentiable term, and perfect (proximal) model for the nonsmooth term. Our method in each iteration minimizes the model over a random subset of blocks of the search variable. RBCN is the first algorithm with these properties, generalizing several existing methods, matching the best known bounds in all special cases. We establish ${\\cal O}(1/\\epsilon)$, ${\\cal O}(1/\\sqrt{\\epsilon})$ and ${\\cal O}(\\log (1/\\epsilon))$ rates under different assumptions on the component functions. Lastly, we show numerically that our method outperforms the state-of-the-art on a variety of machine learning problems, including cubically regularized least-squares, logistic regression with constraints, and Poisson regression.
Randomized Block Cubic Newton Method
Doikov, Nikita
2018-02-12
We study the problem of minimizing the sum of three convex functions: a differentiable, twice-differentiable and a non-smooth term in a high dimensional setting. To this effect we propose and analyze a randomized block cubic Newton (RBCN) method, which in each iteration builds a model of the objective function formed as the sum of the natural models of its three components: a linear model with a quadratic regularizer for the differentiable term, a quadratic model with a cubic regularizer for the twice differentiable term, and perfect (proximal) model for the nonsmooth term. Our method in each iteration minimizes the model over a random subset of blocks of the search variable. RBCN is the first algorithm with these properties, generalizing several existing methods, matching the best known bounds in all special cases. We establish ${\\\\cal O}(1/\\\\epsilon)$, ${\\\\cal O}(1/\\\\sqrt{\\\\epsilon})$ and ${\\\\cal O}(\\\\log (1/\\\\epsilon))$ rates under different assumptions on the component functions. Lastly, we show numerically that our method outperforms the state-of-the-art on a variety of machine learning problems, including cubically regularized least-squares, logistic regression with constraints, and Poisson regression.
2014-07-01
in) the) fibroproliferative) subset) and) Tsk2/+) mice) we) analyzed) the) expression)of)the)TGFβFregulated)gene) tumor )necrosis)factor)receptor... esophagus , and gastrointestinal tract (LeRoy et al., 1988). Survival rates vary significantly between and within subsets of disease, and are usually...patients in the fibroproliferative subset and Tsk2/+ mice we analyzed the expression of the TGFβ- regulated gene tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Laurence Ordonez
Full Text Available In animal models of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV, the proportion of CD45RC T cell subsets is important for disease susceptibility. Their human counterparts are, however, functionally ill defined. In this report, we studied their distribution in healthy controls (HC, AAV patients and in Systemic lupus erythematous (SLE patients as disease controls. We showed that CD45RC expression level on human CD4 and CD8 T cells identifies subsets that are highly variable among individuals. Interestingly, AAV patients exhibit an increased proportion of CD45RC(low CD4 T cells as compared to HC and SLE patients. This increase is stable over time and independent of AAV subtype, ANCA specificity, disease duration, or number of relapses. We also analyzed the cytokine profile of purified CD4 and CD8 CD45RC T cell subsets from HC, after stimulation with anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 mAbs. The CD45RC subsets exhibit different cytokine profiles. Type-1 cytokines (IL-2, IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha were produced by all CD45RC T cell subsets, while the production of IL-17, type-2 (IL-4, IL-5 and regulatory (IL-10 cytokines was restricted to the CD45RC(low subset. In conclusion, we have shown that CD45RC expression divides human T cells in functionally distinct subsets that are imbalanced in AAV. Since this imbalance is stable over time and independent of several disease parameters, we hypothesize that this is a pre-existing immune abnormality involved in the etiology of AAV.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Michael Schnoor
2015-01-01
Full Text Available Leukocyte extravasation is one of the essential and first steps during the initiation of inflammation. Therefore, a better understanding of the key molecules that regulate this process may help to develop novel therapeutics for treatment of inflammation-based diseases such as atherosclerosis or rheumatoid arthritis. The endothelial adhesion molecules ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 are known as the central mediators of leukocyte adhesion to and transmigration across the endothelium. Engagement of these molecules by their leukocyte integrin receptors initiates the activation of several signaling pathways within both leukocytes and endothelium. Several of such events have been described to occur during transendothelial migration of all leukocyte subsets, whereas other mechanisms are known only for a single leukocyte subset. Here, we summarize current knowledge on regulatory mechanisms of leukocyte extravasation from a leukocyte and endothelial point of view, respectively. Specifically, we will focus on highlighting common and unique mechanisms that specific leukocyte subsets exploit to succeed in crossing endothelial monolayers.
Endothelial progenitor cell subsets and preeclampsia: Findings and controversies
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Armin Attar
2017-10-01
Full Text Available Vascular remodeling is an essential component of gestation. Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs play an important role in the regulation of vascular homeostasis. The results of studies measuring the number of EPCs in normal pregnancies and in preeclampsia have been highly controversial or even contradictory because of some variations in technical issues and different methodologies enumerating three distinct subsets of EPCs: circulating angiogenic cells (CAC, colony forming unit endothelial cells (CFU-ECs, and endothelial colony-forming cells (ECFCs. In general, most studies have shown an increase in the number of CACs in the maternal circulation with a progression in the gestational age in normal pregnancies, while functional capacities measured by CFU-ECs and ECFCs remain intact. In the case of preeclampsia, mobilization of CACs and ECFCs occurs in the peripheral blood of pregnant women, but the functional capacities shown by culture of the derived colony-forming assays (CFU-EC and ECFC assays are altered. Furthermore, the number of all EPC subsets will be reduced in umbilical cord blood in the case of preeclampsia. As EPCs play an important role in the homeostasis of vascular networks, the difference in their frequency and functionality in normal pregnancies and those with preeclampsia can be expected. In this review, there was an attempt to provide a justification for these controversies.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Peter Kraft
2015-10-01
Full Text Available Immune cells (IC play a crucial role in murine stroke pathophysiology. However, data are limited on the role of these cells in ischemic stroke in humans. We therefore aimed to characterize and compare peripheral IC subsets in patients with acute ischemic stroke/transient ischemic attack (AIS/TIA, chronic cerebrovascular disease (CCD and healthy volunteers (HV. We conducted a case-control study of patients with AIS/TIA (n = 116 or CCD (n = 117, and HV (n = 104 who were enrolled at the University Hospital Würzburg from 2010 to 2013. We determined the expression and quantity of IC subsets in the three study groups and performed correlation analyses with demographic and clinical parameters. The quantity of several IC subsets differed between the AIS/TIA, CCD, and HV groups. Several clinical and demographic variables independently predicted the quantity of IC subsets in patients with AIS/TIA. No significant changes in the quantity of IC subsets occurred within the first three days after AIS/TIA. Overall, these findings strengthen the evidence for a pathophysiologic role of IC in human ischemic stroke and the potential use of IC-based biomarkers for the prediction of stroke risk. A comprehensive description of IC kinetics is crucial to enable the design of targeted treatment strategies.
Lott, Dominik; Krause, Andreas; Seemayer, Christian A; Strasser, Daniel S; Dingemanse, Jasper; Lehr, Thorsten
2017-03-01
This analysis aimed at describing the effect of the selective sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 1 modulator ponesimod on lymphocyte subsets in peripheral blood. As the involvement of different lymphocyte subsets varies among different autoimmune diseases, characterizing the effect of ponesimod on these may be beneficial in better understanding treatment effects. Three phase 1 clinical studies in healthy human subjects were pooled. Non-linear mixed-effects modeling techniques were used to study the effect of ponesimod on lymphocyte subsets such as B cells, T helper cells, T cytotoxic cells, and natural killer cells in a qualitative and quantitative manner. Indirect-response I max models including circadian variation best described the effect of ponesimod on lymphocyte subsets. B cells and T helper cells were shown to be more affected compared to T cytotoxic cells with respect to the maximum possible reduction (100% for B and T helper cells, 95% for T cytotoxic cells) and the concentration required to reach half the maximum effect. Inter-individual variability was found to be larger for T cytotoxic compared to T helper, and B cells. These first models for ponesimod on the level of lymphocyte subsets offer a valuable tool for the analysis and interpretation of results from ponesimod trials in autoimmune diseases.
Characterization of αβ and γδ T cell subsets expressing IL-17A in ruminants and swine.
Elnaggar, Mahmoud M; Abdellrazeq, Gaber S; Dassanayake, Rohana P; Fry, Lindsay M; Hulubei, Victoria; Davis, William C
2018-08-01
As part of our ongoing program to expand immunological reagents available for research in cattle, we developed a monoclonal antibody (mAb) to bovine interleukin-17A (IL-17A), a multifunctional cytokine centrally involved in regulating innate and adaptive immune responses. Initial comparative studies demonstrated the mAb recognizes a conserved epitope expressed on orthologues of IL-17A in sheep, goats and pigs. Comparative flow cytometric analyses of lymphocyte subsets stimulated with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) and ionomycin revealed differences in expression of IL-17A by CD4, CD8, and γδ T cells across ruminants and swine species. Results in cattle showed the largest proportion of IL-17A + cells were CD4 + followed by γδ and CD8 + T cells. Further analysis revealed the IL-17A + γδ T cell subset was comprised of WC1.1 + , WC1.2 + , and WC1 - subsets. Analysis of the IL-17A + CD8 + T cell subset revealed it was comprised of αβ and γδ T cell subsets. Results in sheep and goats revealed IL-17A is expressed mainly by CD4 + and CD8 + T cells, with little expression by γδ T cells. Analysis of IL-17A + CD8 + T cells showed the majority were CD8 + αβ in sheep, whereas they were CD8 + γδ in goats. The majority of the sheep and goat IL-17A + γδ T cells were WC1 + . Results obtained in swine showed expression of IL-17A by CD4, CD8, and γδ T cell subsets were similar to results reported in other studies. Comparison of expression of IL-17A with IFN-γ revealed subsets co-expressed IL-17A and IFN-γ in cattle, sheep, and goats. The new mAb expands opportunities for immunology research in ruminants and swine. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jeffrey D. Price
2015-06-01
Full Text Available Dendritic cells (DCs are key antigen presenting cells that have an important role in autoimmune pathogenesis. DCs control both steady-state T cell tolerance and activation of pathogenic responses. The balance between these two outcomes depends on several factors, including genetic susceptibility, environmental signals that stimulate varied innate responses, and which DC subset is presenting antigen. Although the specific DC phenotype can diverge depending on the tissue location and context, there are 4 main subsets identified in both mouse and human: conventional cDC1 and cDC2, plasmacytoid DCs, and monocyte-derived DCs. In this review, we will discuss the role of these subsets in autoimmune pathogenesis and regulation, as well as the genetic and environmental signals that influence their function. Specific topics to be addressed include: impact of susceptibility loci on DC subsets, alterations in DC subset development, the role of infection- and host-derived innate inflammatory signals, and the role of the intestinal microbiota on DC phenotype. The effects of these various signals on disease progression and the relative effects of DC subset composition and maturation level of DCs will be examined. These areas will be explored using examples from several autoimmune diseases but will focus mainly on type 1 diabetes.
Freely chosen cadence during a covert manipulation of ambient temperature.
Hartley, Geoffrey L; Cheung, Stephen S
2013-01-01
The present study investigated relationships between changes in power output (PO) to torque (TOR) or freely chosen cadence (FCC) during thermal loading. Twenty participants cycled at a constant rating of perceived exertion while ambient temperature (Ta) was covertly manipulated at 20-min intervals of 20 °C, 35 °C, and 20 °C. The magnitude responses of PO, FCC and TOR were analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA, while the temporal correlations were analyzed using Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Averages (ARIMA). Increases in Ta caused significant thermal strain (p FCC remained unchanged (p = .51). ARIMA indicates that changes in PO were highly correlated to TOR (stationary r2 = .954, p = .04), while FCC was moderately correlated (stationary r2 = .717, p = .01) to PO. In conclusion, changes in PO are caused by a modulation in TOR, whereas FCC remains unchanged and therefore, unaffected by thermal stressors.
Nájera, Oralia; González, Cristina; Toledo, Guadalupe; López, Laura; Ortiz, Rocío
2004-01-01
Protein-energy malnutrition is the primary cause of immune deficiency in children across the world. It has been related to changes in peripheral T-lymphocyte subsets. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of infection and malnutrition on the proportion of peripheral-lymphocyte subsets in well-nourished non-bacterium-infected (WN), well-nourished bacterium-infected (WNI), and malnourished bacterium-infected (MNI) children by flow cytometry. A prospectively monitored cohort of 15 MNI, 12 WNI, and 17 WN children was studied. All the children were 3 years old or younger and had only bacterial infections. Results showed a significant decrease in the proportion of T CD3+ (P < 0.05 for relative and P < 0.03 for absolute values), CD4+ (P < 0.01 for relative and absolute values), and CD8+ (P < 0.05 for relative values) lymphocyte subsets in WNI children compared to the results seen with WN children. Additionally, B lymphocytes in MNI children showed significant lower values (CD20+ P < 0.02 for relative and P < 0.05 for absolute values) in relation to the results seen with WNI children. These results suggest that the decreased proportions of T-lymphocyte subsets observed in WNI children were associated with infection diseases and that the incapacity to increase the proportion of B lymphocyte was associated with malnutrition. This low proportion of B lymphocytes may be associated with the mechanisms involved in the immunodeficiency of malnourished children. PMID:15138185
Study of T cell subsets in patients with chronic glomerulonephritis by immuno-labelling technique
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Dong Jixiang; Zhang Xueguang; Liu Zhida; Han Huiqin; Xie Wei
1998-12-01
As the developing of nuclear industry science, the possibility of nuclear radiation has increased rapidly. Treatments of diseases caused by radiation, especially acute radiation injury, rely heavily on bone marrow transplantation. The usage of immunology inhibitors is crucial to successfully carrying out bone marrow transplantation. So it is important to find out and research on immunology inhibitors. Using the changes of T cell subsets as a marker of immunology function before and after treatment of chronic glomerulonephritis, the authors observed the effect of Tripterygium wilfordii (TW)--an Chinese traditional drug which may probably become an important immunology inhibitor--on the treatment of chronic glomerulonephritis. Methods: immuno-labelling technique was used to measure the changes of T cell subsets in 77 CGN patients before and after treated with TW. Results: CD3 + and CD4 + cells in CGN patients were lower than those in healthy control (p + to CD8 + (CD4 + /CD8 + ) cells reduced significantly (p + , CD4 + cells and the ratio of CD4 + /CD8 + in most of the patients with CGN were further reduced. In patients with uremia, only CD3 + cell level was lower than the level before treatment, while the ratio of CD4 + to CD8 + (CD4 + /CD8 + ) did not change markedly. Conclusion: The imbalance of various T cell subsets and dysfunction of these T cells may play an important role in the pathogenesis of CGN. the increase in γδT cells may be related with the development of CGN. The pharmacological mechanism of TW in the treatment of CGN patients may involve regulation of balance of T cell subsets and inhibition of the T helper functions
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Nantian Huang
2016-09-01
Full Text Available The prediction accuracy of short-term load forecast (STLF depends on prediction model choice and feature selection result. In this paper, a novel random forest (RF-based feature selection method for STLF is proposed. First, 243 related features were extracted from historical load data and the time information of prediction points to form the original feature set. Subsequently, the original feature set was used to train an RF as the original model. After the training process, the prediction error of the original model on the test set was recorded and the permutation importance (PI value of each feature was obtained. Then, an improved sequential backward search method was used to select the optimal forecasting feature subset based on the PI value of each feature. Finally, the optimal forecasting feature subset was used to train a new RF model as the final prediction model. Experiments showed that the prediction accuracy of RF trained by the optimal forecasting feature subset was higher than that of the original model and comparative models based on support vector regression and artificial neural network.
Adams, Allison; Santi, Angelo
2011-03-01
Following training to match 2- and 8-sec durations of feederlight to red and green comparisons with a 0-sec baseline delay, pigeons were allowed to choose to take a memory test or to escape the memory test. The effects of sample omission, increases in retention interval, and variation in trial spacing on selection of the escape option and accuracy were studied. During initial testing, escaping the test did not increase as the task became more difficult, and there was no difference in accuracy between chosen and forced memory tests. However, with extended training, accuracy for chosen tests was significantly greater than for forced tests. In addition, two pigeons exhibited higher accuracy on chosen tests than on forced tests at the short retention interval and greater escape rates at the long retention interval. These results have not been obtained in previous studies with pigeons when the choice to take the test or to escape the test is given before test stimuli are presented. It appears that task-specific methodological factors may determine whether a particular species will exhibit the two behavioral effects that were initially proposed as potentially indicative of metacognition.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Michael E Johnson
Full Text Available Genome-wide expression profiling in systemic sclerosis (SSc has identified four 'intrinsic' subsets of disease (fibroproliferative, inflammatory, limited, and normal-like, each of which shows deregulation of distinct signaling pathways; however, the full set of pathways contributing to this differential gene expression has not been fully elucidated. Here we examine experimentally derived gene expression signatures in dermal fibroblasts for thirteen different signaling pathways implicated in SSc pathogenesis. These data show distinct and overlapping sets of genes induced by each pathway, allowing for a better understanding of the molecular relationship between profibrotic and immune signaling networks. Pathway-specific gene signatures were analyzed across a compendium of microarray datasets consisting of skin biopsies from three independent cohorts representing 80 SSc patients, 4 morphea, and 26 controls. IFNα signaling showed a strong association with early disease, while TGFβ signaling spanned the fibroproliferative and inflammatory subsets, was associated with worse MRSS, and was higher in lesional than non-lesional skin. The fibroproliferative subset was most strongly associated with PDGF signaling, while the inflammatory subset demonstrated strong activation of innate immune pathways including TLR signaling upstream of NF-κB. The limited and normal-like subsets did not show associations with fibrotic and inflammatory mediators such as TGFβ and TNFα. The normal-like subset showed high expression of genes associated with lipid signaling, which was absent in the inflammatory and limited subsets. Together, these data suggest a model by which IFNα is involved in early disease pathology, and disease severity is associated with active TGFβ signaling.
Melville, Bethany; Lucieer, Arko; Aryal, Jagannath
2018-04-01
This paper presents a random forest classification approach for identifying and mapping three types of lowland native grassland communities found in the Tasmanian Midlands region. Due to the high conservation priority assigned to these communities, there has been an increasing need to identify appropriate datasets that can be used to derive accurate and frequently updateable maps of community extent. Therefore, this paper proposes a method employing repeat classification and statistical significance testing as a means of identifying the most appropriate dataset for mapping these communities. Two datasets were acquired and analysed; a Landsat ETM+ scene, and a WorldView-2 scene, both from 2010. Training and validation data were randomly subset using a k-fold (k = 50) approach from a pre-existing field dataset. Poa labillardierei, Themeda triandra and lowland native grassland complex communities were identified in addition to dry woodland and agriculture. For each subset of randomly allocated points, a random forest model was trained based on each dataset, and then used to classify the corresponding imagery. Validation was performed using the reciprocal points from the independent subset that had not been used to train the model. Final training and classification accuracies were reported as per class means for each satellite dataset. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was undertaken to determine whether classification accuracy differed between the two datasets, as well as between classifications. Results showed mean class accuracies between 54% and 87%. Class accuracy only differed significantly between datasets for the dry woodland and Themeda grassland classes, with the WorldView-2 dataset showing higher mean classification accuracies. The results of this study indicate that remote sensing is a viable method for the identification of lowland native grassland communities in the Tasmanian Midlands, and that repeat classification and statistical significant testing can be
Maximum parsimony on subsets of taxa.
Fischer, Mareike; Thatte, Bhalchandra D
2009-09-21
In this paper we investigate mathematical questions concerning the reliability (reconstruction accuracy) of Fitch's maximum parsimony algorithm for reconstructing the ancestral state given a phylogenetic tree and a character. In particular, we consider the question whether the maximum parsimony method applied to a subset of taxa can reconstruct the ancestral state of the root more accurately than when applied to all taxa, and we give an example showing that this indeed is possible. A surprising feature of our example is that ignoring a taxon closer to the root improves the reliability of the method. On the other hand, in the case of the two-state symmetric substitution model, we answer affirmatively a conjecture of Li, Steel and Zhang which states that under a molecular clock the probability that the state at a single taxon is a correct guess of the ancestral state is a lower bound on the reconstruction accuracy of Fitch's method applied to all taxa.
Inferences about nested subsets structure when not all species are detected
Cam, E.; Nichols, J.D.; Hines, J.E.; Sauer, J.R.
2000-01-01
Comparisons of species composition among ecological communities of different size have often provided evidence that the species in communities with lower species richness form nested subsets of the species in larger communities. In the vast majority of studies, the question of nested subsets has been addressed using information on presence-absence, where a '0' is interpreted as the absence of a given species from a given location. Most of the methodological discussion in earlier studies investigating nestedness concerns the approach to generation of model-based matrices. However, it is most likely that in many situations investigators cannot detect all the species present in the location sampled. The possibility that zeros in incidence matrices reflect nondetection rather than absence of species has not been considered in studies addressing nested subsets, even though the position of zeros in these matrices forms the basis of earlier inference methods. These sampling artifacts are likely to lead to erroneous conclusions about both variation over space in species richness and the degree of similarity of the various locations. Here we propose an approach to investigation of nestedness, based on statistical inference methods explicitly incorporating species detection probability, that take into account the probabilistic nature of the sampling process. We use presence-absence data collected under Pollock?s robust capture-recapture design, and resort to an estimator of species richness originally developed for closed populations to assess the proportion of species shared by different locations. We develop testable predictions corresponding to the null hypothesis of a nonnested pattern, and an alternative hypothesis of perfect nestedness. We also present an index for assessing the degree of nestedness of a system of ecological communities. We illustrate our approach using avian data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey collected in Florida Keys.
Three distinct subsets of thymic epithelial cells in rats and mice defined by novel antibodies.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Yasushi Sawanobori
Full Text Available Thymic epithelial cells (TECs are thought to play an essential role in T cell development and have been detected mainly in mice using lectin binding and antibodies to keratins. Our aim in the present study was to create a precise map of rat TECs using antibodies to putative markers and novel monoclonal antibodies (i.e., ED 18/19/21 and anti-CD205 antibodies and compare it with a map from mouse counterparts and that of rat thymic dendritic cells.Rat TECs were subdivided on the basis of phenotype into three subsets; ED18+ED19+/-keratin 5 (K5+K8+CD205+ class II MHC (MHCII+ cortical TECs (cTECs, ED18+ED21-K5-K8+Ulex europaeus lectin 1 (UEA-1+CD205- medullary TECs (mTEC1s, and ED18+ED21+K5+K8dullUEA-1-CD205- medullary TECs (mTEC2s. Thymic nurse cells were defined in cytosmears as an ED18+ED19+/-K5+K8+ subset of cTECs. mTEC1s preferentially expressed MHCII, claudin-3, claudin-4, and autoimmune regulator (AIRE. Use of ED18 and ED21 antibodies revealed three subsets of TECs in mice as well. We also detected two distinct TEC-free areas in the subcapsular cortex and in the medulla. Rat dendritic cells in the cortex were MHCII+CD103+ but negative for TEC markers, including CD205. Those in the medulla were MHCII+CD103+ and CD205+ cells were found only in the TEC-free area.Both rats and mice have three TEC subsets with similar phenotypes that can be identified using known markers and new monoclonal antibodies. These findings will facilitate further analysis of TEC subsets and DCs and help to define their roles in thymic selection and in pathological states such as autoimmune disorders.
NKT cell subsets as key participants in liver physiology and pathology
Bandyopadhyay, Keya; Marrero, Idania; Kumar, Vipin
2016-01-01
Natural killer T (NKT) cells are innate-like lymphocytes that generally recognize lipid antigens and are enriched in microvascular compartments of the liver. NKT cells can be activated by self- or microbial-lipid antigens and by signaling through toll-like receptors. Following activation, NKT cells rapidly secrete pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, and thereby determine the milieu for subsequent immunity or tolerance. It is becoming clear that two different subsets of NKT cells—type I and type II—have different modes of antigen recognition and have opposing roles in inflammatory liver diseases. Here we focus mainly on the roles of both NKT cell subsets in the maintenance of immune tolerance and inflammatory diseases in liver. Furthermore, how the differential activation of type I and type II NKT cells influences other innate cells and adaptive immune cells to result in important consequences for tissue integrity is discussed. It is crucial that better reagents, including CD1d tetramers, be used in clinical studies to define the roles of NKT cells in liver diseases in patients. PMID:26972772
NKT cell subsets as key participants in liver physiology and pathology.
Bandyopadhyay, Keya; Marrero, Idania; Kumar, Vipin
2016-05-01
Natural killer T (NKT) cells are innate-like lymphocytes that generally recognize lipid antigens and are enriched in microvascular compartments of the liver. NKT cells can be activated by self- or microbial-lipid antigens and by signaling through toll-like receptors. Following activation, NKT cells rapidly secrete pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, and thereby determine the milieu for subsequent immunity or tolerance. It is becoming clear that two different subsets of NKT cells-type I and type II-have different modes of antigen recognition and have opposing roles in inflammatory liver diseases. Here we focus mainly on the roles of both NKT cell subsets in the maintenance of immune tolerance and inflammatory diseases in liver. Furthermore, how the differential activation of type I and type II NKT cells influences other innate cells and adaptive immune cells to result in important consequences for tissue integrity is discussed. It is crucial that better reagents, including CD1d tetramers, be used in clinical studies to define the roles of NKT cells in liver diseases in patients.
Restoration of STORM images from sparse subset of localizations (Conference Presentation)
Moiseev, Alexander A.; Gelikonov, Grigory V.; Gelikonov, Valentine M.
2016-02-01
To construct a Stochastic Optical Reconstruction Microscopy (STORM) image one should collect sufficient number of localized fluorophores to satisfy Nyquist criterion. This requirement limits time resolution of the method. In this work we propose a probabalistic approach to construct STORM images from a subset of localized fluorophores 3-4 times sparser than required from Nyquist criterion. Using a set of STORM images constructed from number of localizations sufficient for Nyquist criterion we derive a model which allows us to predict the probability for every location to be occupied by a fluorophore at the end of hypothetical acquisition, having as an input parameters distribution of already localized fluorophores in the proximity of this location. We show that probability map obtained from number of fluorophores 3-4 times less than required by Nyquist criterion may be used as superresolution image itself. Thus we are able to construct STORM image from a subset of localized fluorophores 3-4 times sparser than required from Nyquist criterion, proportionaly decreasing STORM data acquisition time. This method may be used complementary with other approaches desined for increasing STORM time resolution.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Aditi Narsale
2016-09-01
Full Text Available Partial remission in patients newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes is a period of good glucose control that can last from several weeks to over a year. The clinical significance of the remission period is that patients might be more responsive to immunotherapy if treated within this period. This article provides clinical data that indicates the level of glucose control and insulin-secreting β-cell function of each patient in the study at baseline (within 3 months of diagnosis, and at 3, 6, 9, 12, 18 and 24 months post-baseline. The relative frequency of immune cell subsets in the PBMC of each patient and the association between the frequency of immune cell subsets measured and length of remission is also shown. These data support the findings reported in the accompanying publication, “A pilot study showing associations between frequency of CD4+ memory cell subsets at diagnosis and duration of partial remission in type 1 diabetes” (Moya et al., 2016 [1], where a full interpretation, including biological relevance of the study can be found. Keywords: Type 1 diabetes, T cell subsets, Partial remission
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Maria Isabel de Moraes-Pinto
2014-12-01
Full Text Available Ethnic origin, genetics, gender and environmental factors have been shown to influence some immunologic indices, so that development of reference values for populations of different backgrounds may be necessary. We have determined the distribution of lymphocyte subsets in healthy Brazilian individuals from birth to adulthood. Lymphocyte subsets were determined using four-colour cytometry in a cross-sectional study of 463 human immunodeficiency virus-unexposed children and adults from birth through 49 years of age. Lymphocyte subsets varied according to age, as previously observed in other studies. However, total CD4+ T cell numbers were lower than what was described in the Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Group P1009 (PACTG P1009, which assessed an American population of predominantly African and Hispanic backgrounds until the 12-18 year age range, when values were comparable. Naïve percentages and absolute values of CD8+ T cells, as assessed by CD45RA expression, were also lower than the PACTG P1009 data for all analysed age ranges. CD38 expression on both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells was lower than the PACTG P1009 values, with a widening gap between the two studies at older age ranges. Different patterns of cell differentiation seem to occur in different settings and may have characteristic expression within each population.
NKT Cell Subsets Can Exert Opposing Effects in Autoimmunity, Tumor Surveillance and Inflammation
Viale, Rachael; Ware, Randle; Maricic, Igor; Chaturvedi, Varun; Kumar, Vipin
2014-01-01
The innate-like natural killer T (NKT) cells are essential regulators of immunity. These cells comprise at least two distinct subsets and recognize different lipid antigens presented by the MHC class I like molecules CD1d. The CD1d-dependent recognition pathway of NKT cells is highly conserved from mouse to humans. While most type I NKT cells can recognize αGalCer and express a semi-invariant T cell receptor (TCR), a major population of type II NKT cells reactive to sulfatide utilizes an oligoclonal TCR. Furthermore TCR recognition features of NKT subsets are also distinctive with almost parallel as opposed to perpendicular footprints on the CD1d molecules for the type I and type II NKT cells respectively. Here we present a view based upon the recent studies in different clinical and experimental settings that while type I NKT cells are more often pathogenic, they may also be regulatory. On the other hand, sulfatide-reactive type II NKT cells mostly play an inhibitory role in the control of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Since the activity and cytokine secretion profiles of NKT cell subsets can be modulated differently by lipid ligands or their analogs, novel immunotherapeutic strategies are being developed for their differential activation for potential intervention in inflammatory diseases. PMID:25288922
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Simone M Smits
Full Text Available The development of mesodiencephalic dopaminergic (mdDA neurons located in the substantia nigra compacta (SNc and ventral tegmental area (VTA follow a number of stages marked by distinct events. After preparation of the region by signals that provide induction and patterning, several transcription factors have been identified, which are involved in specifying the neuronal fate of these cells. The specific vulnerability of SNc neurons is thought to root in these specific developmental programs. The present study examines the positions of young postmitotic mdDA neurons to relate developmental position to mdDA subset specific markers. MdDA neurons were mapped relative to the neuromeric domains (prosomeres 1-3 (P1-3, midbrain, and hindbrain as well as the longitudinal subdivisions (floor plate, basal plate, alar plate, as proposed by the prosomeric model. We found that postmitotic mdDA neurons are located mainly in the floorplate domain and very few in slightly more lateral domains. Moreover, mdDA neurons are present along a large proportion of the anterior/posterior axis extending from the midbrain to P3 in the diencephalon. The specific positions relate to some extent to the presence of specific subset markers as Ahd2. In the adult stage more of such subsets specific expressed genes are present and may represent a molecular map defining molecularly distinct groups of mdDA neurons.
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
Shi-Hua Zhou
2016-01-01
Objective:To analyze and investigate the change state of T, B lymphocyte subsets and Th1/Th2 indexes of patients with recurrent spontaneous abortion. Methods: A total of 92 patients with recurrent spontaneous abortion in our hospital from June 2013 to July 2015 were selected as the observation group and 92 women with health delivery history at the same time were selected as the control group,then the peripheral blood T, B lymphocyte subsets and Th1/Th2 indexes of two groups were detected and compared and the peripheral blood T, B lymphocyte subsets and Th1/Th2 indexes of patients with different gestational age at abortion and abortion times were compared too. Results:The peripheral blood T, B lymphocyte subsets and Th1/Th2 indexes of observation group and control group all had obvious differences,and those blood indexes levels' differences of patients with different gestational age at abortion and abortion times were obvious too, all P<0.05 and the differences were significant. Conclusions: The T, B lymphocyte subsets and Th1/Th2 indexes of patients with recurrent spontaneous abortion show abnormal state and the differences of detection results of patients with different gestational age at abortion and abortion times are relatively obvious,so those indexes should be monitored and improved intentinonally.
Kucukgoz, Mehmet; Harmanci, Oztan; Mihcak, Mehmet K.; Venkatesan, Ramarathnam
2005-03-01
In this paper, we propose a novel semi-blind video watermarking scheme, where we use pseudo-random robust semi-global features of video in the three dimensional wavelet transform domain. We design the watermark sequence via solving an optimization problem, such that the features of the mark-embedded video are the quantized versions of the features of the original video. The exact realizations of the algorithmic parameters are chosen pseudo-randomly via a secure pseudo-random number generator, whose seed is the secret key, that is known (resp. unknown) by the embedder and the receiver (resp. by the public). We experimentally show the robustness of our algorithm against several attacks, such as conventional signal processing modifications and adversarial estimation attacks.
Peripheral blood and milk leukocytes subsets of lactating Sarda ewes
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Piero Bonelli
2013-05-01
Full Text Available Leukocytes subpopulations in blood and milk of lactating Sarda ewes were investigated. Animals characterized by a SSC level <500×103cells/mL and a negative bacteriological examination were sampled in early, mid and late lactation. Milk differential cell count evidenced that macrophage represented the main population (42.8%±3.5 followed by lymphocytes (40.2%±3.4 and neutrophils (8,6%±2.1. Flow cytometry analysis showed that lymphocytes subsets in milk were quite different from blood. High CD8+ and low CD4+ lymphocytes percentages determined a CD4/CD8 ratio inversion in milk compared to blood (0.3%±0.03 vs 1.8%±0.08. CD8+ decreased while, conversely, CD4+ increased in late lactation. γδ T cells were more represented in milk (12.6%±1.3 than in blood (6.8%±0.3 and their proportions appeared similar throughout lactation in both compartments. IL-2 receptor was mainly expressed in milk on T cytotoxic lymphocytes. Data obtained in uninfected mammary glands could allow an early discrimination between physiological and pathological changes occurring in ewe milk. Further phenotypical and functional studies on milk leukocytes subsets might help to understand defense mechanisms of the ovine mammary gland against IMI.
Differential Aspartate Usage Identifies a Subset of Cancer Cells Particularly Dependent on OGDH
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Eric L. Allen
2016-10-01
Full Text Available Although aberrant metabolism in tumors has been well described, the identification of cancer subsets with particular metabolic vulnerabilities has remained challenging. Here, we conducted an siRNA screen focusing on enzymes involved in the tricarboxylic acid (TCA cycle and uncovered a striking range of cancer cell dependencies on OGDH, the E1 subunit of the alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex. Using an integrative metabolomics approach, we identified differential aspartate utilization, via the malate-aspartate shuttle, as a predictor of whether OGDH is required for proliferation in 3D culture assays and for the growth of xenograft tumors. These findings highlight an anaplerotic role of aspartate and, more broadly, suggest that differential nutrient utilization patterns can identify subsets of cancers with distinct metabolic dependencies for potential pharmacological intervention.
Diversity of poverty in the chosen European Union countries within the period 2006-2014
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Anna Iwacewicz-Orłowska
2016-12-01
Full Text Available The main purpose of the study is to analyse the poverty level changes in the chosen European Union countries in years 2006-2014. The poverty and inequality issue gained a global dimension. Income inequality in most countries is significantly higher than thirty years ago. Analysis was based on the statistical data source The European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC for four countries: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia and the method of the data analysis has been used. The Gini coefficient and a people at-risk-of- poverty or social exclusion indexes were used for this analysis. Differences in the level of poverty depends on the following determinants: the age, the territorial location, the size of the town and the most frequent activity status. Results of research shows that main groups exposed to the poverty in the chosen EU countries are above all unemployed persons and their families, young persons, children and inhabitants of towns, suburbs and rural areas. Inhabitants from outlying districts, far from the capital city of the country are threatened with the higher level of poverty in each analysed country. The results of the research prove that the poverty at different levels afflict different social groups.
Diagnosing Warm Frontal Cloud Formation in a GCM: A Novel Approach Using Conditional Subsetting
Booth, James F.; Naud, Catherine M.; DelGenio, Anthony D.
2013-01-01
This study analyzes characteristics of clouds and vertical motion across extratropical cyclone warm fronts in the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies general circulation model. The validity of the modeled clouds is assessed using a combination of satellite observations from CloudSat, Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO), Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for Earth Observing System (AMSR-E), and the NASA Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) reanalysis. The analysis focuses on developing cyclones, to test the model's ability to generate their initial structure. To begin, the extratropical cyclones and their warm fronts are objectively identified and cyclone-local fields are mapped into a vertical transect centered on the surface warm front. To further isolate specific physics, the cyclones are separated using conditional subsetting based on additional cyclone-local variables, and the differences between the subset means are analyzed. Conditional subsets are created based on 1) the transect clouds and 2) vertical motion; 3) the strength of the temperature gradient along the warm front, as well as the storm-local 4) wind speed and 5) precipitable water (PW). The analysis shows that the model does not generate enough frontal cloud, especially at low altitude. The subsetting results reveal that, compared to the observations, the model exhibits a decoupling between cloud formation at high and low altitudes across warm fronts and a weak sensitivity to moisture. These issues are caused in part by the parameterized convection and assumptions in the stratiform cloud scheme that are valid in the subtropics. On the other hand, the model generates proper covariability of low-altitude vertical motion and cloud at the warm front and a joint dependence of cloudiness on wind and PW.
Comparison of the Functional microRNA Expression in Immune Cell Subsets of Neonates and Adults
Yu, Hong-Ren; Hsu, Te-Yao; Huang, Hsin-Chun; Kuo, Ho-Chang; Li, Sung-Chou; Yang, Kuender D.; Hsieh, Kai-Sheng
2016-01-01
Diversity of biological molecules in newborn and adult immune cells contributes to differences in cell function and atopic properties. Micro RNAs (miRNAs) are reported to involve in the regulation of immune system. Therefore, determining the miRNA expression profile of leukocyte subpopulations is important for understanding immune system regulation. In order to explore the unique miRNA profiling that contribute to altered immune in neonates, we comprehensively analyzed the functional miRNA signatures of eight leukocyte subsets (polymorphonuclear cells, monocytes, CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, natural killer cells, B cells, plasmacytoid dendritic cells, and myeloid dendritic cells) from both neonatal and adult umbilical cord and peripheral blood samples, respectively. We observed distinct miRNA profiles between adult and neonatal blood leukocyte subsets, including unique miRNA signatures for each cell lineage. Leukocyte miRNA signatures were altered after stimulation. Adult peripheral leukocytes had higher let-7b-5p expression levels compared to neonatal cord leukocytes across multiple subsets, irrespective of stimulation. Transfecting neonatal monocytes with a let-7b-5p mimic resulted in a reduction of LPS-induced interleukin (IL)-6 and TNF-α production, while transfection of a let-7b-5p inhibitor into adult monocytes enhanced IL-6 and TNF-α production. With this functional approach, we provide intact differential miRNA expression profiling of specific immune cell subsets between neonates and adults. These studies serve as a basis to further understand the altered immune response observed in neonates and advance the development of therapeutic strategies. PMID:28066425
Comparison of the functional microRNA expression in immune cell subsets of neonates and adults
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Hong-Ren Yu
2016-12-01
Full Text Available Diversity of biological molecules in newborn and adult immune cells contributes to differences in cell function and atopic properties. Micro RNAs (miRNAs are reported involve in the regulation of immune system. Therefore, determining the miRNA expression profile of leukocyte sub-populations is important for understanding immune system regulation. In order to explore the unique microRNA profiling that contribute to altered immune in neonates, we comprehensively analyzed the functional miRNA signatures of eight leukocyte subsets (polymorphonuclear cells, monocytes, CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, natural killer cells, B cells, plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs, and myeloid dendritic cells (mDCs from both neonatal and adult umbilical cord and peripheral blood samples, respectively. We observed distinct miRNA profiles between adult and neonatal blood leukocyte subsets, including unique miRNA signatures for each cell lineage. Leukocyte miRNA signatures were altered after stimulation. Adult peripheral leukocytes had higher let-7b-5p expression levels compared to neonatal cord leukocytes across multiple subsets, irrespective of stimulation. Transfecting neonatal monocytes with a let-7b-5p mimic resulted in a reduction of LPS-induced IL-6 and TNF-alpha production, while transfection of a let-7b-5p inhibitor into adult monocytes enhanced IL-6 and TNF-alpha production. With this functional approach, we provide intact differential microRNA expression profiling of specific immune cell subsets between neonates and adults. These studies serve as a basis to further understand the altered immune response observed in neonates and advance the development of therapeutic strategies.
L1-Penalized N-way PLS for subset of electrodes selection in BCI experiments
Eliseyev, Andrey; Moro, Cecile; Faber, Jean; Wyss, Alexander; Torres, Napoleon; Mestais, Corinne; Benabid, Alim Louis; Aksenova, Tetiana
2012-08-01
Recently, the N-way partial least squares (NPLS) approach was reported as an effective tool for neuronal signal decoding and brain-computer interface (BCI) system calibration. This method simultaneously analyzes data in several domains. It combines the projection of a data tensor to a low dimensional space with linear regression. In this paper the L1-Penalized NPLS is proposed for sparse BCI system calibration, allowing uniting the projection technique with an effective selection of subset of features. The L1-Penalized NPLS was applied for the binary self-paced BCI system calibration, providing selection of electrodes subset. Our BCI system is designed for animal research, in particular for research in non-human primates.
Chakravarty, Eliza F; Martyanov, Viktor; Fiorentino, David; Wood, Tammara A; Haddon, David James; Jarrell, Justin Ansel; Utz, Paul J; Genovese, Mark C; Whitfield, Michael L; Chung, Lorinda
2015-06-13
Systemic sclerosis is an autoimmune disease characterized by inflammation and fibrosis of the skin and internal organs. We sought to assess the clinical and molecular effects associated with response to intravenous abatacept in patients with diffuse cutaneous systemic. Adult diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis patients were randomized in a 2:1 double-blinded fashion to receive abatacept or placebo over 24 weeks. Primary outcomes were safety and the change in modified Rodnan Skin Score (mRSS) at week 24 compared with baseline. Improvers were defined as patients with a decrease in mRSS of ≥30% post-treatment compared to baseline. Skin biopsies were obtained for differential gene expression and pathway enrichment analyses and intrinsic gene expression subset assignment. Ten subjects were randomized to abatacept (n = 7) or placebo (n = 3). Disease duration from first non-Raynaud's symptom was significantly longer (8.8 ± 3.8 years vs. 2.4 ± 1.6 years, p = 0.004) and median mRSS was higher (30 vs. 22, p = 0.05) in the placebo compared to abatacept group. Adverse events were similar in the two groups. Five out of seven patients (71%) randomized to abatacept and one out of three patients (33%) randomized to placebo experienced ≥30% improvement in skin score. Subjects receiving abatacept showed a trend toward improvement in mRSS at week 24 (-8.6 ± 7.5, p = 0.0625) while those in the placebo group did not (-2.3 ± 15, p = 0.75). After adjusting for disease duration, mRSS significantly improved in the abatacept compared with the placebo group (abatacept vs. placebo mRSS decrease estimate -9.8, 95% confidence interval -16.7 to -3.0, p = 0.0114). In the abatacept group, the patients in the inflammatory intrinsic subset showed a trend toward greater improvement in skin score at 24 weeks compared with the patients in the normal-like intrinsic subset (-13.5 ± 3.1 vs. -4.5 ± 6.4, p = 0.067). Abatacept resulted in decreased CD28 co-stimulatory gene expression in improvers
Dehghan, Parvin; Farhangi, Mahdieh Abbasalizad; Tavakoli, Farnaz; Aliasgarzadeh, Akbar; Akbari, Aliakbar Movasaghpour
2016-02-01
Type 2 diabetic mellitus (T2DM) asone of the main causes of morbidity and mortality is associated with immune system disturbances and metabolic abnormalities. In the current study we aimed to evaluate the effects of oligofructose-enriched inulin on T-cell subsets and their related cytokines, anthropometric and metabolic parameters in patients with T2DM. Forty-six diabetic females patients were randomly allocated into intervention (n=27) and control (n=22) groups. Subjects in the intervention group received a daily dose of 10g of oligofructose-enriched inulin and subjects in control group received a placebo for two months. Anthropometric variables, metabolic parameters including fasting serum glucose (FSG), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), lipid profile and blood pressure were measured at the beginning and after two months. Immune markers also included serum interleukin (IL)-4, IL-12 and interferon (IFN)-γ concentrations were assessed and CD3(+), CD4(+), CD8(+) and CD11b(+)T-cell counts were determined by flow cytometry at baseline and end of the trial. After two months intervention, significant improvements in anthropometric variables, blood pressure and serum lipids occurred in prebiotic-treated group (P<0.001). Serum IL-4, IL-12 and IFN-γ concentrationsalso significantly decreased in intervention group (P<0.001). No significant changes in CD3(+), CD4(+), CD8(+) and CD11b(+) T-cell counts were observed in treatment groups after intervention. The present study showed several beneficial effects of oligofructose-enriched inulin on the improvement of the glycemic status, lipid profile, and immune markers in patients with T2DM. Further studies are needed to confirming our findings and to better clarify the underlying mechanisms. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Shang, Zhe; Tao, Tuoxin; Wang, Lei
2016-01-01
Choice effect is a robust phenomenon in which even “mere choice” that does not include actual choosing actions could result in more preference for the self-chosen objects over other-chosen objects. In the current research, we proposed that autonomy would impact the mere choice effect. We conducted two studies to examine the hypothesis. The results showed that the mere choice effect measured by Implicit Association Test (IAT) significantly decreased for participants with lower levels of trait autonomy (Study 1) and when participants were primed to experience autonomy deprivation (Study 2). The theoretical and practical implications are discussed. PMID:27148132
Soufan, Othman
2012-09-01
Feature selection is the first task of any learning approach that is applied in major fields of biomedical, bioinformatics, robotics, natural language processing and social networking. In feature subset selection problem, a search methodology with a proper criterion seeks to find the best subset of features describing data (relevance) and achieving better performance (optimality). Wrapper approaches are feature selection methods which are wrapped around a classification algorithm and use a performance measure to select the best subset of features. We analyze the proper design of the objective function for the wrapper approach and highlight an objective based on several classification algorithms. We compare the wrapper approaches to different feature selection methods based on distance and information based criteria. Significant improvement in performance, computational time, and selection of minimally sized feature subsets is achieved by combining different objectives for the wrapper model. In addition, considering various classification methods in the feature selection process could lead to a global solution of desirable characteristics.
Tachykinins stimulate a subset of mouse taste cells.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jeff Grant
Full Text Available The tachykinins substance P (SP and neurokinin A (NKA are present in nociceptive sensory fibers expressing transient receptor potential cation channel, subfamily V, member 1 (TRPV1. These fibers are found extensively in and around the taste buds of several species. Tachykinins are released from nociceptive fibers by irritants such as capsaicin, the active compound found in chili peppers commonly associated with the sensation of spiciness. Using real-time Ca(2+-imaging on isolated taste cells, it was observed that SP induces Ca(2+ -responses in a subset of taste cells at concentrations in the low nanomolar range. These responses were reversibly inhibited by blocking the SP receptor NK-1R. NKA also induced Ca(2+-responses in a subset of taste cells, but only at concentrations in the high nanomolar range. These responses were only partially inhibited by blocking the NKA receptor NK-2R, and were also inhibited by blocking NK-1R indicating that NKA is only active in taste cells at concentrations that activate both receptors. In addition, it was determined that tachykinin signaling in taste cells requires Ca(2+-release from endoplasmic reticulum stores. RT-PCR analysis further confirmed that mouse taste buds express NK-1R and NK-2R. Using Ca(2+-imaging and single cell RT-PCR, it was determined that the majority of tachykinin-responsive taste cells were Type I (Glial-like and umami-responsive Type II (Receptor cells. Importantly, stimulating NK-1R had an additive effect on Ca(2+ responses evoked by umami stimuli in Type II (Receptor cells. This data indicates that tachykinin release from nociceptive sensory fibers in and around taste buds may enhance umami and other taste modalities, providing a possible mechanism for the increased palatability of spicy foods.
Cerebellins are differentially expressed in selective subsets of neurons throughout the brain.
Seigneur, Erica; Südhof, Thomas C
2017-10-15
Cerebellins are secreted hexameric proteins that form tripartite complexes with the presynaptic cell-adhesion molecules neurexins or 'deleted-in-colorectal-cancer', and the postsynaptic glutamate-receptor-related proteins GluD1 and GluD2. These tripartite complexes are thought to regulate synapses. However, cerebellins are expressed in multiple isoforms whose relative distributions and overall functions are not understood. Three of the four cerebellins, Cbln1, Cbln2, and Cbln4, autonomously assemble into homohexamers, whereas the Cbln3 requires Cbln1 for assembly and secretion. Here, we show that Cbln1, Cbln2, and Cbln4 are abundantly expressed in nearly all brain regions, but exhibit strikingly different expression patterns and developmental dynamics. Using newly generated knockin reporter mice for Cbln2 and Cbln4, we find that Cbln2 and Cbln4 are not universally expressed in all neurons, but only in specific subsets of neurons. For example, Cbln2 and Cbln4 are broadly expressed in largely non-overlapping subpopulations of excitatory cortical neurons, but only sparse expression was observed in excitatory hippocampal neurons of the CA1- or CA3-region. Similarly, Cbln2 and Cbln4 are selectively expressed, respectively, in inhibitory interneurons and excitatory mitral projection neurons of the main olfactory bulb; here, these two classes of neurons form dendrodendritic reciprocal synapses with each other. A few brain regions, such as the nucleus of the lateral olfactory tract, exhibit astoundingly high Cbln2 expression levels. Viewed together, our data show that cerebellins are abundantly expressed in relatively small subsets of neurons, suggesting specific roles restricted to subsets of synapses. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Estimating skin blood saturation by selecting a subset of hyperspectral imaging data
Ewerlöf, Maria; Salerud, E. Göran; Strömberg, Tomas; Larsson, Marcus
2015-03-01
Skin blood haemoglobin saturation (?b) can be estimated with hyperspectral imaging using the wavelength (λ) range of 450-700 nm where haemoglobin absorption displays distinct spectral characteristics. Depending on the image size and photon transport algorithm, computations may be demanding. Therefore, this work aims to evaluate subsets with a reduced number of wavelengths for ?b estimation. White Monte Carlo simulations are performed using a two-layered tissue model with discrete values for epidermal thickness (?epi) and the reduced scattering coefficient (μ's ), mimicking an imaging setup. A detected intensity look-up table is calculated for a range of model parameter values relevant to human skin, adding absorption effects in the post-processing. Skin model parameters, including absorbers, are; μ's (λ), ?epi, haemoglobin saturation (?b), tissue fraction blood (?b) and tissue fraction melanin (?mel). The skin model paired with the look-up table allow spectra to be calculated swiftly. Three inverse models with varying number of free parameters are evaluated: A(?b, ?b), B(?b, ?b, ?mel) and C(all parameters free). Fourteen wavelength candidates are selected by analysing the maximal spectral sensitivity to ?b and minimizing the sensitivity to ?b. All possible combinations of these candidates with three, four and 14 wavelengths, as well as the full spectral range, are evaluated for estimating ?b for 1000 randomly generated evaluation spectra. The results show that the simplified models A and B estimated ?b accurately using four wavelengths (mean error 2.2% for model B). If the number of wavelengths increased, the model complexity needed to be increased to avoid poor estimations.
Analysis of chosen urban bioclimatic conditions in Upper Silesian Industrial Region, Poland
Zimnol, Jan
2013-04-01
Due to the increasing urbanization, people spend more and more time in cities. Because of that fact during the last century the human bioclimatological approach had an important influence on the applied urban bioclimatology. The aim of the study was to analyze chosen thermal bioclimatic conditions in urban area of Upper Silesian Industrial Region in connection with the atmospheric circulation and air masses. The study was focused on the thermal conditions that are important for the bioclimatological research on human thermal comfort. They were the basis for making study on how to show the influence of the air masses and circulations types on frequency and variability of the chosen bioclimate indexes. That research was based on data (2004 - 2008) acquired by the Silesian University (Faculty of Earth Sciences) meteorological station located in the city of Sosnowiec (50°17'N, 19°08'E, h=263 m a.s.l.). The temperature measurements were made automatically every 10 minutes on the 2 meters above the ground level. Previous research showed that the station is a good representation of the local urban climate conditions in Upper Silesian Industrial Region. In the study the following air temperatures were taken into consideration: average day temperature, maximum day temperature, minimum day temperature and the average air temperature at 12 UTC. They were associated with atmospheric circulation types and masses typical for the region. Using the data mentioned above I conducted a classification to divide days into following objective categories: cool, cold, comfortable, hot, warm and very hot in the seasonal depiction. The final stage of the work was to find the answer to the following question: "When and how do the strong air masses and air circulations types modify bioclimatic conditions in the study area?" Answer to that question together with further results of the research will be presented on my poster.
Placing of aroma compounds by food sales promotion in chosen services business
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jakub Berčík
2016-12-01
Full Text Available There are several ways to get higher sale involving human senses too. One of the options is a security of stimulating atmosphere of sale/ business environment. In addition to equipment, design and staff, the lighting, sound (noise, and last ones but not least smell, respectively air quality significantly take part on that. Aroma is the element that inherently belongs to the visual merchandising tools. It can influence not only emotions, memory, but total customers´ satisfaction and preferences as well as spending time in that place. In this context, it is important to find right compromise when choosing the aromatic compounds for various products, in the process of their application (intensity, process of aromatization and security of sufficient air quality, because everybody perceives the odours with different sensitivity. Properly chosen smell and factors of air quality bring for business operators (services trades many advantages; from staff, who more relax and friendly behave to the guests until making of various associations and stimulations of customers, who spend time inside of service. Fragrance or air quality looks like based on of present researches as the most important factor directly on point-of-sale, while aroma acquires the importance in case of memory too. On the one side, the thinks, which are seen or heard by customers, could be memorized by them few days or weeks, so on the second side, the thinks which are smelled, could be memorized by guests many decades. Except this, the Scientifics studies show, that over 75 % of all emotions are generated based on scent´ perception. The main aim of this paper is a research, how aroma influences customer purchasing decision (preferences in chosen service provider through the tracking of daily sales of baked baguettes (Paninis with using of aroma equipment; Aroma Dispenser.
Peripheral lymphocyte subset variation predicts prostate cancer carbon ion radiotherapy outcomes
Shi, Ze-Liang; Li, Bing-Xin; Wu, Xian-Wei; Li, Ping; Zhang, Qing; Wei, Xun-Bin; Fu, Shen
2016-01-01
The immune system plays a complementary role in the cytotoxic activity of radiotherapy. Here, we examined changes in immune cell subsets after heavy ion therapy for prostate cancer. The lymphocyte counts were compared with acute radiotherapy-related toxicity, defined according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events, and short-term local efficacy, defined based on prostate-specific antigen concentrations. Confirmed prostate cancer patients who had not received previous radiotherapy were administered carbon ion radiotherapy (CIR) in daily fractions of 2.74 GyE with a total dose of 63-66 GyE. Lymphocyte subset counts were investigated before, during and after radiotherapy, and at a 1 month follow-up. Most notable among our findings, the CD4/CD8 ratio and CD19+ cell counts were consistently higher in patients with a complete response (CR) or partial response (PR) to CIR than in those classified in the stable disease (SD) group (P<0.05 for both). But CD3+ and CD8+ cell counts were lower in the CR and PR groups than in the SD group. These results indicate that variations in peripheral lymphocyte subpopulations are predictive of outcome after CIR for prostate cancer. PMID:27029063
A Danish randomized trial comparing breast-preserving therapy with mastectomy in mammary carcinoma
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Blichert-Toft, M.; Brincker, H.; Andersen, J.A.; Andersen, K.W.; Axelsson, C.K.; Mouridsen, H.T.; Dombernowsky, P.; Overgaard, M.; Gadeberg, C.; Knudsen, G.; Borgeskov, S.; Bertelsen, S.; Knudsen, J.B.; Hansen, J.B.; Poulsen, P.E.; Willumsen, H.; Schousen, P.; Froberg, D.; Oernsholt, J.; Andersen, M.; Olesen, S.; Skovgaard, S.; Oester, M.; Schumacher, H.; Lynderup, E.K.; Holm, C.N.
1988-01-01
The present study comprises 847 women operated upon for invasive breast carcinoma at 19 surgical departments and enrolled in protocol DBCG-82TM from January 1983 to November 1987. Among them 662 (78%) were allocated for breast-preserving therapy or mastectomy by randomization, while 185 patients (22%) did not accept randomization. Within the randomized group 6% could not be entered into adjuvant protocols, i.e. subsequent programmes of postoperative therapy and follow-up. This left 619 evaluable patients. In the non-randomized series 26% did not fulfil the demands for entrance into the adjuvant protocols, leaving 136 evaluable patients, 60 of whom had chosen a breast-preserving operation and 76 mastectomy. In the randomized series the patients in the two treatment arms were comparable in age, menopausal status, site of tumour, pathoanatomical diameter of the tumour, number of removed axillary lymph nodes, number of metastatic axillary lymph nodes, and distribution on adjuvant regimens. Ninety per cent of the patients in the randomized group accepted the method offered, whereas 10% declined and wanted the alternate form of operation. The median follow-up period was approximately 1.75 years. The cumulative recurrence rate in the randomized group was 13% and in the non-randomized group 7%. These results are preliminary. Life-table analyses have not so far demonstrated differences in recurrence-free survival either in the randomized or the non-randomized series. (orig.)
The human Vδ2+ T-cell compartment comprises distinct innate-like Vγ9+ and adaptive Vγ9- subsets.
Davey, Martin S; Willcox, Carrie R; Hunter, Stuart; Kasatskaya, Sofya A; Remmerswaal, Ester B M; Salim, Mahboob; Mohammed, Fiyaz; Bemelman, Frederike J; Chudakov, Dmitriy M; Oo, Ye H; Willcox, Benjamin E
2018-05-02
Vδ2 + T cells form the predominant human γδ T-cell population in peripheral blood and mediate T-cell receptor (TCR)-dependent anti-microbial and anti-tumour immunity. Here we show that the Vδ2 + compartment comprises both innate-like and adaptive subsets. Vγ9 + Vδ2 + T cells display semi-invariant TCR repertoires, featuring public Vγ9 TCR sequences equivalent in cord and adult blood. By contrast, we also identify a separate, Vγ9 - Vδ2 + T-cell subset that typically has a CD27 hi CCR7 + CD28 + IL-7Rα + naive-like phenotype and a diverse TCR repertoire, however in response to viral infection, undergoes clonal expansion and differentiation to a CD27 lo CD45RA + CX 3 CR1 + granzymeA/B + effector phenotype. Consistent with a function in solid tissue immunosurveillance, we detect human intrahepatic Vγ9 - Vδ2 + T cells featuring dominant clonal expansions and an effector phenotype. These findings redefine human γδ T-cell subsets by delineating the Vδ2 + T-cell compartment into innate-like (Vγ9 + ) and adaptive (Vγ9 - ) subsets, which have distinct functions in microbial immunosurveillance.
[Clinical research IV. Relevancy of the statistical test chosen].
Talavera, Juan O; Rivas-Ruiz, Rodolfo
2011-01-01
When we look at the difference between two therapies or the association of a risk factor or prognostic indicator with its outcome, we need to evaluate the accuracy of the result. This assessment is based on a judgment that uses information about the study design and statistical management of the information. This paper specifically mentions the relevance of the statistical test selected. Statistical tests are chosen mainly from two characteristics: the objective of the study and type of variables. The objective can be divided into three test groups: a) those in which you want to show differences between groups or inside a group before and after a maneuver, b) those that seek to show the relationship (correlation) between variables, and c) those that aim to predict an outcome. The types of variables are divided in two: quantitative (continuous and discontinuous) and qualitative (ordinal and dichotomous). For example, if we seek to demonstrate differences in age (quantitative variable) among patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with and without neurological disease (two groups), the appropriate test is the "Student t test for independent samples." But if the comparison is about the frequency of females (binomial variable), then the appropriate statistical test is the χ(2).
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Sutton, Lesley-Ann; Young, Emma; Baliakas, Panagiotis
2016-01-01
We report on markedly different frequencies of genetic lesions within subsets of chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients carrying mutated or unmutated stereotyped B-cell receptor immunoglobulins in the largest cohort (n=565) studied for this purpose. By combining data on recurrent gene mutations...... subsets implies that the mechanisms underlying clinical aggressiveness are not uniform, but rather support the existence of distinct genetic pathways of clonal evolution governed by a particular stereotyped B-cell receptor selecting a certain molecular lesion(s)....
THE USEFULNESS FOR ENSILING OF CHOSEN PLANT FORMS OF SPECIES OF SILPHIUM GENUS
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jarosław Piłat
2007-12-01
Full Text Available Chemical composition and usefulness for ensiling of the chosen forms of species: S. perfoliatum was determined in different stages of vegetation. Forage fermantation coefficient of species form: I, II ,III during vegetation period from vegetative phase to seed setting phase was lower than 35. The fermentation coefficient IV form of species during the initial phase of seed setting amounted to 36,54, which ensured the correct fermentation. The high phenol acids content in I, II, III species form limits the possibility of using them for forage purposes. These species may constitute a potentially good raw material for the pharmaceutical industry.
Ahmadizar, Fariba; Onland-Moret, N. Charlotte; De Boer, Anthonius; Liu, Geoffrey; Maitland-Van Der Zee, Anke H.
2015-01-01
Aim: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of bevacizumab in the adjuvant cancer therapy setting within different subset of patients. Methods & Design/Results: PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane and Clinical trials.gov databases were searched for English language studies of randomized controlled trials
Scheffel, Joerg; Regen, Tommy; Van Rossum, Denise; Seifert, Stefanie; Ribes, Sandra; Nau, Roland; Parsa, Roham; Harris, Robert A.; Boddeke, Hendrikus W. G. M.; Chuang, Han-Ning; Pukrop, Tobias; Wessels, Johannes T.; Juergens, Tanja; Merkler, Doron; Brueck, Wolfgang; Schnaars, Mareike; Simons, Mikael; Kettenmann, Helmut; Hanisch, Uwe-Karsten
2012-01-01
The sentinel and immune functions of microglia require rapid and appropriate reactions to infection and damage. Their Toll-like receptors (TLRs) sense both as threats. However, whether activated microglia mount uniform responses or whether subsets conduct selective tasks is unknown. We demonstrate
Optimal random search for a single hidden target.
Snider, Joseph
2011-01-01
A single target is hidden at a location chosen from a predetermined probability distribution. Then, a searcher must find a second probability distribution from which random search points are sampled such that the target is found in the minimum number of trials. Here it will be shown that if the searcher must get very close to the target to find it, then the best search distribution is proportional to the square root of the target distribution regardless of dimension. For a Gaussian target distribution, the optimum search distribution is approximately a Gaussian with a standard deviation that varies inversely with how close the searcher must be to the target to find it. For a network where the searcher randomly samples nodes and looks for the fixed target along edges, the optimum is either to sample a node with probability proportional to the square root of the out-degree plus 1 or not to do so at all.
Subset simulation for structural reliability sensitivity analysis
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Song Shufang; Lu Zhenzhou; Qiao Hongwei
2009-01-01
Based on two procedures for efficiently generating conditional samples, i.e. Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) simulation and importance sampling (IS), two reliability sensitivity (RS) algorithms are presented. On the basis of reliability analysis of Subset simulation (Subsim), the RS of the failure probability with respect to the distribution parameter of the basic variable is transformed as a set of RS of conditional failure probabilities with respect to the distribution parameter of the basic variable. By use of the conditional samples generated by MCMC simulation and IS, procedures are established to estimate the RS of the conditional failure probabilities. The formulae of the RS estimator, its variance and its coefficient of variation are derived in detail. The results of the illustrations show high efficiency and high precision of the presented algorithms, and it is suitable for highly nonlinear limit state equation and structural system with single and multiple failure modes
Randomly Generating Four Mixed Bell-Diagonal States with a Concurrences Sum to Unity
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Toh, S. P.; Zainuddin Hishamuddin; Foo Kim Eng
2012-01-01
A two-qubit system in quantum information theory is the simplest bipartite quantum system and its concurrence for pure and mixed states is well known. As a subset of two-qubit systems, Bell-diagonal states can be depicted by a very simple geometrical representation of a tetrahedron with sides of length 2√2. Based on this geometric representation, we propose a simple approach to randomly generate four mixed Bell decomposable states in which the sum of their concurrence is equal to one. (general)
COMPARISON OF THE CHOSEN ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES OF THE ARABLE LAND AND FALLOW
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Stanisław Włodek
2014-10-01
Full Text Available The results and analysis of the chosen physico-chemical soil properties of the fallow, which was not cultivated for 7 years and of the arable land, situated close to it, are presented in this work. Soil moisture content was higher and the weed infestation rate was bigger on the arable land in comparison to fallow. Significant increase of C.org. as well as P, K and Mg availability for plant was noticed on the fallow. On the arable land segetal species were common, whereas on the fallow ruderal species occurred as well. In spite of the close neighborhood of fallow with Solidago gigantea and Solidago canadensis species domination, this species was not reported on the arable land.
Solubility on compact subsets for differential equations with real principal pencil of symbols
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Shananin, N A
2006-01-01
The central result is a theorem on the solubility on compact subsets for differential equations of quasiprincipal type with real principal pencil of symbols. The proof is based on the analysis of the microlocal structure of the singularities of solutions of equations in this class.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Bei-Bei Zhang
Full Text Available Previous studies showed that CD4+T cells responses might be involved in the process of biliary fibrosis. However, the underlying mechanism resulting in biliary fibrosis caused by Clonorchis sinensis remains not yet fully elucidated. The objectives of the present study were to investigate the different profiles of hepatic CD4+T cell subsets (Th1, Th2, Th17 and Treg cells and their possible roles in the biliary fibrosis of different strains of mice (C57BL/6, BALB/c and FVB mice induced by C. sinensis infection. C57BL/6, BALB/c and FVB mice were orally gavaged with 45 metacercariae. All mice were sacrificed on 28 days post infection in deep anesthesia conditions. The leukocytes in the liver were separated to examine CD4+T cell subsets by flow cytometry and the left lobe of liver was used to observe pathological changes, collagen depositions and the concentrations of hydroxyproline. The most serious cystic and fibrotic changes appeared in FVB infected mice indicated by gross observation, Masson's trichrome staining and hydroxyproline content detection. In contrast to C57BL/6 infected mice, diffuse nodules and more intensive fibrosis were observed in the BALB/c infected mice. No differences of the hepatic Th1 subset and Th17 subset were found among the three strains, but the hepatic Th2 and Treg cells and their relative cytokines were dramatically increased in the BALB/c and FVB infected groups compared with the C57BL/6 infected group (P<0.01. Importantly, increased Th2 subset and Treg subset all positively correlated with hydroxyproline contents (P<0.01. This result for the first time implied that the increased hepatic Th2 and Treg cell subsets were likely to play potential roles in the formation of biliary fibrosis in C. sinensis-infected mice.
Random Subspace Aggregation for Cancer Prediction with Gene Expression Profiles
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Liying Yang
2016-01-01
Full Text Available Background. Precisely predicting cancer is crucial for cancer treatment. Gene expression profiles make it possible to analyze patterns between genes and cancers on the genome-wide scale. Gene expression data analysis, however, is confronted with enormous challenges for its characteristics, such as high dimensionality, small sample size, and low Signal-to-Noise Ratio. Results. This paper proposes a method, termed RS_SVM, to predict gene expression profiles via aggregating SVM trained on random subspaces. After choosing gene features through statistical analysis, RS_SVM randomly selects feature subsets to yield random subspaces and training SVM classifiers accordingly and then aggregates SVM classifiers to capture the advantage of ensemble learning. Experiments on eight real gene expression datasets are performed to validate the RS_SVM method. Experimental results show that RS_SVM achieved better classification accuracy and generalization performance in contrast with single SVM, K-nearest neighbor, decision tree, Bagging, AdaBoost, and the state-of-the-art methods. Experiments also explored the effect of subspace size on prediction performance. Conclusions. The proposed RS_SVM method yielded superior performance in analyzing gene expression profiles, which demonstrates that RS_SVM provides a good channel for such biological data.
Analysis of T Cell Subsets in Adult Primary/Idiopathic Minimal Change Disease: A Pilot Study
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Francisco Salcido-Ochoa
2017-01-01
Full Text Available Aim. To characterise infiltrating T cells in kidneys and circulating lymphocyte subsets of adult patients with primary/idiopathic minimal change disease. Methods. In a cohort of 9 adult patients with primary/idiopathic minimal change recruited consecutively at disease onset, we characterized (1 infiltrating immune cells in the kidneys using immunohistochemistry and (2 circulating lymphocyte subsets using flow cytometry. As an exploratory analysis, association of the numbers and percentages of both kidney-infiltrating immune cells and the circulating lymphocyte subsets with kidney outcomes including deterioration of kidney function and proteinuria, as well as time to complete clinical remission up to 48 months of follow-up, was investigated. Results. In the recruited patients with primary/idiopathic minimal change disease, we observed (a a dominance of infiltrating T helper 17 cells and cytotoxic cells, comprising cytotoxic T cells and natural killer cells, over Foxp3+ Treg cells in the renal interstitium; (b an increase in the circulating total CD8+ T cells in peripheral blood; and (c an association of some of these parameters with kidney function and proteinuria. Conclusions. In primary/idiopathic minimal change disease, a relative numerical dominance of effector over regulatory T cells can be observed in kidney tissue and peripheral blood. However, larger confirmatory studies are necessary.
Early, A. B.; Chen, G.; Beach, A. L., III; Northup, E. A.
2016-12-01
NASA has conducted airborne tropospheric chemistry studies for over three decades. These field campaigns have generated a great wealth of observations, including a wide range of the trace gases and aerosol properties. The Atmospheric Science Data Center (ASDC) at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton Virginia originally developed the Toolsets for Airborne Data (TAD) web application in September 2013 to meet the user community needs for manipulating aircraft data for scientific research on climate change and air quality relevant issues. The analysis of airborne data typically requires data subsetting, which can be challenging and resource intensive for end users. In an effort to streamline this process, the TAD toolset enhancements will include new data subsetting features and updates to the current database model. These will include two subsetters: temporal and spatial, and vertical profile. The temporal and spatial subsetter will allow users to both focus on data from a specific location and/or time period. The vertical profile subsetter will retrieve data collected during an individual aircraft ascent or descent spiral. This effort will allow for the automation of the typically labor-intensive manual data subsetting process, which will provide users with data tailored to their specific research interests. The development of these enhancements will be discussed in this presentation.
Pivotal statistics for testing subsets of structural parameters in the IV Regression Model
Kleibergen, F.R.
2000-01-01
We construct a novel statistic to test hypothezes on subsets of the structural parameters in anInstrumental Variables (IV) regression model. We derive the chi squared limiting distribution of thestatistic and show that it has a degrees of freedom parameter that is equal to the number ofstructural
Fluvial sediments characterization of Hornád river in its chosen parts (preliminary study
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Stela Hanigovská
2008-12-01
Full Text Available Knowledge of main river sedimentary characteristics is very important source of information for next study or potentialcommercial usage of fluvial sediments. In paper is shown characterization of sediment distribution in chosen part of the river Hornád.Three main facial types were studied and described – gravel, sand and clay. Model created in this study shows that Hornád is a riverwith predominant gravel transport. This model also shows a sufficient amount of gravel for commercial use in some parts of the river.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Trautwein Christian
2010-06-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background Recent experimental approaches have unraveled essential migratory and functional differences of monocyte subpopulations in mice. In order to possibly translate these findings into human physiology and pathophysiology, human monocyte subsets need to be carefully revisited in health and disease. In analogy to murine studies, we hypothesized that human monocyte subsets dynamically change during ageing, potentially influencing their functionality and contributing to immunosenescence. Results Circulating monocyte subsets, surface marker and chemokine receptor expression were analyzed in 181 healthy volunteers (median age 42, range 18-88. Unlike the unaffected total leukocyte or total monocyte counts, non-classical CD14+CD16+ monocytes significantly increased with age, but displayed reduced HLA-DR and CX3CR1 surface expression in the elderly. Classical CD14++CD16- monocyte counts did not vary dependent on age. Serum MCP-1 (CCL2, but not MIP1α (CCL3, MIP1β (CCL4 or fractalkine (CX3CL1 concentrations increased with age. Monocyte-derived macrophages from old or young individuals did not differ with respect to cytokine release in vitro at steady state or upon LPS stimulation. Conclusions Our study demonstrates dynamic changes of circulating monocytes during ageing in humans. The expansion of the non-classical CD14+CD16+ subtype, alterations of surface protein and chemokine receptor expression as well as circulating monocyte-related chemokines possibly contribute to the preserved functionality of the monocyte pool throughout adulthood.
REST represses a subset of the pancreatic endocrine differentiation program
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Martin, David; Kim, Yung-Hae; Sever, Dror
2015-01-01
in neurons and in endocrine cells, which is necessary for their normal function. During development, REST represses a subset of genes in the neuronal differentiation program and Rest is down-regulated as neurons differentiate. Here, we investigate the role of REST in the differentiation of pancreatic...... endocrine cells, which are molecularly close to neurons. We show that Rest is widely expressed in pancreas progenitors and that it is down-regulated in differentiated endocrine cells. Sustained expression of REST in Pdx1(+) progenitors impairs the differentiation of endocrine-committed Neurog3...
Collapsing a perfect superposition to a chosen quantum state without measurement.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ahmed Younes
Full Text Available Given a perfect superposition of [Formula: see text] states on a quantum system of [Formula: see text] qubits. We propose a fast quantum algorithm for collapsing the perfect superposition to a chosen quantum state [Formula: see text] without applying any measurements. The basic idea is to use a phase destruction mechanism. Two operators are used, the first operator applies a phase shift and a temporary entanglement to mark [Formula: see text] in the superposition, and the second operator applies selective phase shifts on the states in the superposition according to their Hamming distance with [Formula: see text]. The generated state can be used as an excellent input state for testing quantum memories and linear optics quantum computers. We make no assumptions about the used operators and applied quantum gates, but our result implies that for this purpose the number of qubits in the quantum register offers no advantage, in principle, over the obvious measurement-based feedback protocol.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Anna Pastò
Full Text Available BACKGROUND AND AIM: Colon crypts are characterized by a hierarchy of cells distributed along the crypt axis. Aim of this paper was to develop an in vitro system for separation of epithelial cell subsets in different maturation stages from normal human colon. METHODOLOGY AND MAJOR FINDINGS: Dissociated colonic epithelial cells were stained with PKH26, which allows identification of distinct populations based on their proliferation rate, and cultured in vitro in the absence of serum. The cytofluorimetric expression of CK20, Msi-1 and Lgr5 was studied. The mRNA levels of several stemness-associated genes were also compared in cultured cell populations and in three colon crypt populations isolated by microdissection. A PKH(pos population survived in culture and formed spheroids; this population included subsets with slow (PKH(high and rapid (PKH(low replicative rates. Molecular analysis revealed higher mRNA levels of both Msi-1 and Lgr-5 in PKH(high cells; by cytofluorimetric analysis, Msi-1(+/Lgr5(+ cells were only found within PKH(high cells, whereas Msi-1(+/Lgr5(- cells were also observed in the PKH(low population. As judged by qRT-PCR analysis, the expression of several stemness-associated markers (Bmi-1, EphB2, EpCAM, ALDH1 was highly enriched in Msi-1(+/Lgr5(+ cells. While CK20 expression was mainly found in PKH(low and PKH(neg cells, a small PKH(high subset co-expressed both CK20 and Msi-1, but not Lgr5; cells with these properties also expressed Mucin, and could be identified in vivo in colon crypts. These results mirrored those found in cells isolated from different crypt portions by microdissection, and based on proliferation rates and marker expression they allowed to define several subsets at different maturation stages: PKH(high/Lgr5(+/Msi-1(+/CK20(-, PKH(high/Lgr5(-/Msi-1(+/CK20(+, PKH(low/Lgr5(-/Msi-1(+/Ck20(-, and PKH(low/Lgr5(-/Msi-1(-/CK20(+ cells. CONCLUSIONS: Our data show the possibility of deriving in vitro, without any
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Abrahamsen, Bo; Bendtzen, Klaus; Beck-Nielsen, H
1997-01-01
resorptive cytokines and have also been linked with bone metabolism and the development of osteoporosis. Cytokine secretion from whole blood cell cultures was compared between two randomized groups of healthy early post-menopausal women (mean age 52.5 yrs, N = 91) and lymphocyte subsets were quantitated....... There was no association between cytokine release and bone mass or loss assessed over 2 yrs. The only exception was a weak estrogen-independent correlation between basal IL-1ra secretion and bone loss (r = -0.21, p loss...... cells may be important in the pathophysiology of post-menopausal bone loss. The possibility that IL-1ra acts as an independent bone-sparing factor unrelated to estrogen withdrawal warrants further investigation. In conclusion, ERT maintains bone without affecting the release of the IL-1 family...
Some Observations on the Subset Simulation Related to the Wind Turbine Mechanics
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Sichani, Mahdi Teimouri; Nielsen, Søren R.K.; Thoft-Christensen, Palle
2012-01-01
systems. It is interesting to determine applicability of the Subset Simulation (SS) techniques, as a powerful representative of Variance Reduction Monte Carlo (VRMC) methods, on the wind turbine systems specifically with an active controller. Hence in this paper we apply and discuss these methods...... on a benchmark wind turbine model and analyze the results in view of their applicability....
Local randomization in neighbor selection improves PRM roadmap quality
McMahon, Troy; Jacobs, Sam; Boyd, Bryan; Tapia, Lydia; Amato, Nancy M.
2012-01-01
Probabilistic Roadmap Methods (PRMs) are one of the most used classes of motion planning methods. These sampling-based methods generate robot configurations (nodes) and then connect them to form a graph (roadmap) containing representative feasible pathways. A key step in PRM roadmap construction involves identifying a set of candidate neighbors for each node. Traditionally, these candidates are chosen to be the k-closest nodes based on a given distance metric. In this paper, we propose a new neighbor selection policy called LocalRand(k,K'), that first computes the K' closest nodes to a specified node and then selects k of those nodes at random. Intuitively, LocalRand attempts to benefit from random sampling while maintaining the higher levels of local planner success inherent to selecting more local neighbors. We provide a methodology for selecting the parameters k and K'. We perform an experimental comparison which shows that for both rigid and articulated robots, LocalRand results in roadmaps that are better connected than the traditional k-closest policy or a purely random neighbor selection policy. The cost required to achieve these results is shown to be comparable to k-closest. © 2012 IEEE.
Local randomization in neighbor selection improves PRM roadmap quality
McMahon, Troy
2012-10-01
Probabilistic Roadmap Methods (PRMs) are one of the most used classes of motion planning methods. These sampling-based methods generate robot configurations (nodes) and then connect them to form a graph (roadmap) containing representative feasible pathways. A key step in PRM roadmap construction involves identifying a set of candidate neighbors for each node. Traditionally, these candidates are chosen to be the k-closest nodes based on a given distance metric. In this paper, we propose a new neighbor selection policy called LocalRand(k,K\\'), that first computes the K\\' closest nodes to a specified node and then selects k of those nodes at random. Intuitively, LocalRand attempts to benefit from random sampling while maintaining the higher levels of local planner success inherent to selecting more local neighbors. We provide a methodology for selecting the parameters k and K\\'. We perform an experimental comparison which shows that for both rigid and articulated robots, LocalRand results in roadmaps that are better connected than the traditional k-closest policy or a purely random neighbor selection policy. The cost required to achieve these results is shown to be comparable to k-closest. © 2012 IEEE.
STUDIES OF CHOSEN TOXIC ELEMENTS CONCENTRATION IN MULTIFLOWER BEE HONEY
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ewa Popiela
2011-04-01
Full Text Available 72 544x376 Normal 0 21 false false false The aim of the study was to determine the bioaccumulation level of chosen toxic elements (Zn, Cu, Pb, As and Cd in multiflower honey collected from Brzeg area. Biological material (honey was mineralized using the microwave technique at an elevated pressure in the microprocessor station of pressure in the type Mars 5. Quantitative analysis of elements (As, Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn was performed by plasma spectrometry method using a Varian ICP-AES apparatus. The presence of toxic elements was determined in examined biological materials. The elements fallowed the fallowing decreasing order with respect to their content of honey: Zn>Cu>Pb>As>Cd. The average concentrations of studied elements observed in multi-flower honey were as follows: 6.24 mg.kg-1 of zinc, 2.75 mg.kg-1 of copper, 0.53, 0.071, 0.042 mg.kg-1of lead, arsenic and cadmium, respectively. Lead was the most problematic in bee honey because its average content exceeded the maximum acceptable concentration. Additionally, this metal concentration was 60% higher in studied samples than allowable standard of lead content.doi:10.5219/134
Chosen Aspects of Non‑Profit Sector and Volunteering in Slovakia
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Beata Gavurova
2017-01-01
Full Text Available The significance of voluntary activities in Slovakia constantly increases as it is one of the fundamental areas, which is of particular interest to chosen communities as well as the general public, with the scope of these activities exceeding religious or social groups and national character. The current situation of voluntary activities is not satisfactory and there is an absence of primary research studies that would provide a relevant and complex overview of the volunteering system. Further worsening the situation is the fact that volunteering actions were not even defined in the legal system until 2011. Evaluation of the existing situation and development of voluntary activities realized in Slovakia is carried out using a questionnaire survey, identifying the fundamental barriers of its development and evaluating the potential for implementing new challenges and trends. The most problematic issue is area of financing, closely related to non‑governmental sector financing issues. A lack of understanding by the donors concerning the process of investing in volunteers, even in high quality programs, is also an important problem, along with the lack of legislation and mistrust. Organization and volunteer motivation was also investigated.
Distribution of Schmidt-like eigenvalues for Gaussian ensembles of the random matrix theory
Pato, Mauricio P.; Oshanin, Gleb
2013-03-01
We study the probability distribution function P(β)n(w) of the Schmidt-like random variable w = x21/(∑j = 1nx2j/n), where xj, (j = 1, 2, …, n), are unordered eigenvalues of a given n × n β-Gaussian random matrix, β being the Dyson symmetry index. This variable, by definition, can be considered as a measure of how any individual (randomly chosen) eigenvalue deviates from the arithmetic mean value of all eigenvalues of a given random matrix, and its distribution is calculated with respect to the ensemble of such β-Gaussian random matrices. We show that in the asymptotic limit n → ∞ and for arbitrary β the distribution P(β)n(w) converges to the Marčenko-Pastur form, i.e. is defined as P_{n}^{( \\beta )}(w) \\sim \\sqrt{(4 - w)/w} for w ∈ [0, 4] and equals zero outside of the support, despite the fact that formally w is defined on the interval [0, n]. Furthermore, for Gaussian unitary ensembles (β = 2) we present exact explicit expressions for P(β = 2)n(w) which are valid for arbitrary n and analyse their behaviour.
Distribution of Schmidt-like eigenvalues for Gaussian ensembles of the random matrix theory
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Pato, Mauricio P; Oshanin, Gleb
2013-01-01
We study the probability distribution function P (β) n (w) of the Schmidt-like random variable w = x 2 1 /(∑ j=1 n x 2 j /n), where x j , (j = 1, 2, …, n), are unordered eigenvalues of a given n × n β-Gaussian random matrix, β being the Dyson symmetry index. This variable, by definition, can be considered as a measure of how any individual (randomly chosen) eigenvalue deviates from the arithmetic mean value of all eigenvalues of a given random matrix, and its distribution is calculated with respect to the ensemble of such β-Gaussian random matrices. We show that in the asymptotic limit n → ∞ and for arbitrary β the distribution P (β) n (w) converges to the Marčenko–Pastur form, i.e. is defined as P n (β) (w)∼√((4 - w)/w) for w ∈ [0, 4] and equals zero outside of the support, despite the fact that formally w is defined on the interval [0, n]. Furthermore, for Gaussian unitary ensembles (β = 2) we present exact explicit expressions for P (β=2) n (w) which are valid for arbitrary n and analyse their behaviour. (paper)
The performance of tests on endogeneity of subsets of explanatory variables scanned by simulation
Kiviet, J.F.; Pleus, M.
2011-01-01
Tests for classification as endogenous or predetermined of arbitrary subsets of regressors are formulated as significance tests in auxiliary IV regressions and their relationships with various more classic test procedures are examined. Simulation experiments are designed by solving the data
van Herk, Egbert H.; te Velde, Anje A.
2016-01-01
T regulatory cells (Tregs) play an important role in the regulation of autoimmunity, autoinflammation, allergic diseases, infection, and the tumor environment. Different subsets are characterized that use a number of regulatory mechanisms. Tregs can influence the progression of inflammatory bowel
A Longitudinal Study of the Role of T Cell subset, Th1/Th2 cytokines ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
A Longitudinal Study of the Role of T Cell subset, Th1/Th2 cytokines and antiplasmodial antibodies in uncomplicated Malaria in a Village Population Chronically Exposed to Plasmodium falciparum Malaria.
A metaheuristic optimization framework for informative gene selection
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Kaberi Das
Full Text Available This paper presents a metaheuristic framework using Harmony Search (HS with Genetic Algorithm (GA for gene selection. The internal architecture of the proposed model broadly works in two phases, in the first phase, the model allows the hybridization of HS with GA to compute and evaluate the fitness of the randomly selected solutions of binary strings and then HS ranks the solutions in descending order of their fitness. In the second phase, the offsprings are generated using crossover and mutation operations of GA and finally, those offsprings were selected for the next generation whose fitness value is more than their parents evaluated by SVM classifier. The accuracy of the final gene subsets obtained from this model has been evaluated using SVM classifiers. The merit of this approach is analyzed by experimental results on five benchmark datasets and the results showed an impressive accuracy over existing feature selection approaches. The occurrence of gene subsets selected from this model have also been computed and the most often selected gene subsets with the probability of [0.1â0.9] have been chosen as optimal sets of informative genes. Finally, the performance of those selected informative gene subsets have been measured and established through probabilistic measures. Keywords: Gene Selection, Metaheuristic, Harmony Search Algorithm, Genetic Algorithm, SVM
Random access to mobile networks with advanced error correction
Dippold, Michael
1990-01-01
A random access scheme for unreliable data channels is investigated in conjunction with an adaptive Hybrid-II Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ) scheme using Rate Compatible Punctured Codes (RCPC) Forward Error Correction (FEC). A simple scheme with fixed frame length and equal slot sizes is chosen and reservation is implicit by the first packet transmitted randomly in a free slot, similar to Reservation Aloha. This allows the further transmission of redundancy if the last decoding attempt failed. Results show that a high channel utilization and superior throughput can be achieved with this scheme that shows a quite low implementation complexity. For the example of an interleaved Rayleigh channel and soft decision utilization and mean delay are calculated. A utilization of 40 percent may be achieved for a frame with the number of slots being equal to half the station number under high traffic load. The effects of feedback channel errors and some countermeasures are discussed.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Manuela Pogliaghi
Full Text Available During HIV-1 infection the B-cell compartment undergoes profound changes towards terminal differentiation, which are only partially restored by antiretroviral therapy (cART.To investigate the impact of infection as early as during primary HIV-1 infection (PHI we assessed distribution of B-cell subsets in 19 PHI and 25 chronic HIV-1-infected (CHI individuals before and during 48 weeks of cART as compared to healthy controls (n = 23. We also analysed Immunoglobulin-expression of memory B-cell subsets to identify alterations in Immunoglobulin-maturation.Determination of B-cell subsets at baseline showed that total and Naive B-cells were decreased whereas Activated Memory (AM, Tissue-like Memory (TLM B-cells and Plasma cells were increased in both PHI and CHI patients. After 4 weeks of cART total B-cells increased, while AM, TLM B-cells and Plasma cells decreased, although without reaching normal levels in either group of individuals. This trend was maintained until week 48, though only total B-cells normalized in both PHI and CHI. Resting Memory (RM B-cells were preserved since baseline. This subset remained stable in CHI, while was expanded by an early initiation of cART during PHI. Untreated CHI patients showed IgM-overexpression at the expenses of switched (IgM-IgD- phenotypes of the memory subsets. Interestingly, in PHI patients a significant alteration of Immunoglobulin-expression was evident at BL in TLM cells, and after 4 weeks, despite treatment, in AM and RM subsets. After 48 weeks of therapy, Immunoglobulin-expression of AM and RM almost normalized, but remained perturbed in TLM cells in both groups.In conclusion, aberrant activated and exhausted B-cell phenotypes rose already during PHI, while most of the alterations in Ig-expression seen in CHI appeared later, despite 4 weeks of effective cART. After 48 weeks of cART B-cell subsets distribution improved although without full normalization, while Immunoglobulin-expression normalized
Pogliaghi, Manuela; Ripa, Marco; Pensieroso, Simone; Tolazzi, Monica; Chiappetta, Stefania; Nozza, Silvia; Lazzarin, Adriano; Tambussi, Giuseppe; Scarlatti, Gabriella
2015-01-01
During HIV-1 infection the B-cell compartment undergoes profound changes towards terminal differentiation, which are only partially restored by antiretroviral therapy (cART). To investigate the impact of infection as early as during primary HIV-1 infection (PHI) we assessed distribution of B-cell subsets in 19 PHI and 25 chronic HIV-1-infected (CHI) individuals before and during 48 weeks of cART as compared to healthy controls (n = 23). We also analysed Immunoglobulin-expression of memory B-cell subsets to identify alterations in Immunoglobulin-maturation. Determination of B-cell subsets at baseline showed that total and Naive B-cells were decreased whereas Activated Memory (AM), Tissue-like Memory (TLM) B-cells and Plasma cells were increased in both PHI and CHI patients. After 4 weeks of cART total B-cells increased, while AM, TLM B-cells and Plasma cells decreased, although without reaching normal levels in either group of individuals. This trend was maintained until week 48, though only total B-cells normalized in both PHI and CHI. Resting Memory (RM) B-cells were preserved since baseline. This subset remained stable in CHI, while was expanded by an early initiation of cART during PHI. Untreated CHI patients showed IgM-overexpression at the expenses of switched (IgM-IgD-) phenotypes of the memory subsets. Interestingly, in PHI patients a significant alteration of Immunoglobulin-expression was evident at BL in TLM cells, and after 4 weeks, despite treatment, in AM and RM subsets. After 48 weeks of therapy, Immunoglobulin-expression of AM and RM almost normalized, but remained perturbed in TLM cells in both groups. In conclusion, aberrant activated and exhausted B-cell phenotypes rose already during PHI, while most of the alterations in Ig-expression seen in CHI appeared later, despite 4 weeks of effective cART. After 48 weeks of cART B-cell subsets distribution improved although without full normalization, while Immunoglobulin-expression normalized among AM and
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Zheng Shanjun; Tian Huaijun; Cao Jia; Gao Yuqi
2010-01-01
Di(n-butyl)phthalate (DBP) and benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) are environmental endocrine disruptors that are potentially hazardous to humans. These chemicals affect testicular macrophage immuno-endocrine function and testosterone production. However, the underlying mechanisms for these effects are not fully understood. It is well known that interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), which is secreted by testicular macrophages, plays a trigger role in regulating Leydig cell steroidogenesis. The purpose of this study was to reveal the effects of co-exposure to DBP and BaP on testicular macrophage subset expression, IL-1β secretion and testosterone production. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into seven groups; two groups received DBP plus BaP (DBP + BaP: 50 + 1 or 250 + 5 mg/kg/day) four groups received DBP or BaP alone (DBP: 50 or 250 mg/kg/day; BaP: 1 or 5 mg/kg/day), and one group received vehicle alone (control). After co-exposure for 90 days, the relative expression of macrophage subsets and their functions changed. ED2 + testicular macrophages (reactive with a differentiation-related antigen present on the resident macrophages) were activated and IL-1β secretion was enhanced. DBP and BaP acted additively, as demonstrated by greater IL-1β secretion relative to each compound alone. These observations suggest that exposure to DBP plus BaP exerted greater suppression on testosterone production compared with each compound alone. The altered balance in the subsets of testicular macrophages and the enhanced ability of resident testicular macrophages to secrete IL-1β, resulted in enhanced production of IL-1β as a potent steroidogenesis repressor. This may represent an important mechanism by which DBP and BaP repress steroidogenesis.
Experimental investigation of clogging dynamics in homogeneous porous medium
Shen, Jikang; Ni, Rui
2017-03-01
A 3-D refractive-index matching Lagrangian particle tracking (3D-RIM-LPT) system was developed to study the filtration and the clogging process inside a homogeneous porous medium. A small subset of particles flowing through the porous medium was dyed and tracked. As this subset was randomly chosen, its dynamics is representative of all the rest. The statistics of particle locations, number, and velocity were obtained as functions of different volumetric concentrations. It is found that in our system the clogging time decays with the particle concentration following a power law relationship. As the concentration increases, there is a transition from depth filtration to cake filtration. At high concentration, more clogged pores lead to frequent flow redirections and more transverse migrations of particles. In addition, the velocity distribution in the transverse direction is symmetrical around zero, and it is slightly more intermittent than the random Gaussian curve due to particle-particle and particle-grain interactions. In contrast, as clogging develops, the longitudinal velocity of particles along the mean flow direction peaks near zero because of many trapped particles. But at the same time, the remaining open pores will experience larger pressure and, as a result, particles through those pores tend to have larger longitudinal velocities.
A Typical Immune T/B Subset Profile Characterizes Bicuspid Aortic Valve: In an Old Status?
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Carmela R. Balistreri
2018-01-01
Full Text Available Bicuspid valve disease is associated with the development of thoracic aortic aneurysm. The molecular mechanisms underlying this association still need to be clarified. Here, we evaluated the circulating levels of T and B lymphocyte subsets associated with the development of vascular diseases in patients with bicuspid aortic valve or tricuspid aortic valve with and without thoracic aortic aneurysm. We unveiled that the circulating levels of the MAIT, CD4+IL−17A+, and NKT T cell subsets were significantly reduced in bicuspid valve disease cases, when compared to tricuspid aortic valve cases in either the presence or the absence of thoracic aortic aneurysm. Among patients with tricuspid aortic valve, these cells were higher in those also affected by thoracic aortic aneurysm. Similar data were obtained by examining CD19+ B cells, naïve B cells (IgD+CD27−, memory unswitched B cells (IgD+CD27+, memory switched B cells (IgD−CD27+, and double-negative B cells (DN (IgD−CD27−. These cells resulted to be lower in subjects with bicuspid valve disease with respect to patients with tricuspid aortic valve. In whole, our data indicate that patients with bicuspid valve disease show a quantitative reduction of T and B lymphocyte cell subsets. Future studies are encouraged to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying this observation and its pathophysiological significance.
T cell subsets in human airways prior to and following endobronchial administration of endotoxin
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Ronit, Andreas; Plovsing, Ronni R; Gaardbo, Julie C
2015-01-01
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Bronchial instillation of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) provides a reversible model of lung inflammation that may resemble early stages of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). We investigated the distributions of T-cell subsets in the human airways and sought to deter...
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Samantha Gadd
2012-08-01
Full Text Available Wilms tumors (WT have provided broad insights into the interface between development and tumorigenesis. Further understanding is confounded by their genetic, histologic, and clinical heterogeneity, the basis of which remains largely unknown. We evaluated 224 WT for global gene expression patterns; WT1, CTNNB1, and WTX mutation; and 11p15 copy number and methylation patterns. Five subsets were identified showing distinct differences in their pathologic and clinical features: these findings were validated in 100 additional WT. The gene expression pattern of each subset was compared with published gene expression profiles during normal renal development. A novel subset of epithelial WT in infants lacked WT1, CTNNB1, and WTX mutations and nephrogenic rests and displayed a gene expression pattern of the postinduction nephron, and none recurred. Three subsets were characterized by a low expression of WT1 and intralobar nephrogenic rests. These differed in their frequency of WT1 and CTNNB1 mutations, in their age, in their relapse rate, and in their expression similarities with the intermediate mesoderm versus the metanephric mesenchyme. The largest subset was characterized by biallelic methylation of the imprint control region 1, a gene expression profile of the metanephric mesenchyme, and both interlunar and perilobar nephrogenic rests. These data provide a biologic explanation for the clinical and pathologic heterogeneity seen within WT and enable the future development of subset-specific therapeutic strategies. Further, these data support a revision of the current model of WT ontogeny, which allows for an interplay between the type of initiating event and the developmental stage in which it occurs.
Human endogenous retroviruses and chosen disease parameters in morphea
Dańczak-Pazdrowska, Aleksandra; Szramka-Pawlak, Beata; Żaba, Ryszard; Osmola-Mańkowska, Agnieszka; Silny, Wojciech
2017-01-01
Introduction Morphea (localized scleroderma) is a relatively rare disease characterized by excessive skin fibrosis. Human endogenous retroviruses (HERV) are largely distributed within the human genome with hundreds of thousands of elements. The HERV have been widely studied in autoimmune disorders, yet hardly ever assessed in diseases with a good prognosis such as morphea. Aim In this study we focus on the possible relations between the expression of chosen HERV and factors influencing the pathomechanism of the disease, such as age, sex, titres of anti-nuclear antibodies, as well as duration, activity, and severity of the disease (LoSSI index). Material and methods Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting six HERV sequences of interest were performed on samples derived from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and skin biopsies. Results In PBMC we found a statistically significant negative correlation between HERV-W env expression and LoSSI index (p = 0.01). Additionally, HERV-W env was downregulated in patients with the active form of morphea. In all other cases we found no correlation whatsoever nor statistically significant differences below the p = 0.05 threshold. Conclusions Morphea seems to be an autoimmune disease where the impact of HERV is not so apparent. It seems that probing many patients for the expression of just a few sequences is not as effective as previously expected. For initial studies of HERV in other diseases we recommend high throughput techniques such as HERV-dedicated DNA microarrays or massive parallel sequencing. PMID:28261031
Human endogenous retroviruses and chosen disease parameters in morphea
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Michał J. Kowalczyk
2017-02-01
Full Text Available Introduction: Morphea (localized scleroderma is a relatively rare disease characterized by excessive skin fibrosis. Human endogenous retroviruses (HERV are largely distributed within the human genome with hundreds of thousands of elements. The HERV have been widely studied in autoimmune disorders, yet hardly ever assessed in diseases with a good prognosis such as morphea. Aim: In this study we focus on the possible relations between the expression of chosen HERV and factors influencing the pathomechanism of the disease, such as age, sex, titres of anti-nuclear antibodies, as well as duration, activity, and severity of the disease (LoSSI index. Material and methods: Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR targeting six HERV sequences of interest were performed on samples derived from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC and skin biopsies. Results: In PBMC we found a statistically significant negative correlation between HERV-W env expression and LoSSI index (p = 0.01. Additionally, HERV-W env was downregulated in patients with the active form of morphea. In all other cases we found no correlation whatsoever nor statistically significant differences below the p = 0.05 threshold. Conclusions : Morphea seems to be an autoimmune disease where the impact of HERV is not so apparent. It seems that probing many patients for the expression of just a few sequences is not as effective as previously expected. For initial studies of HERV in other diseases we recommend high throughput techniques such as HERV-dedicated DNA microarrays or massive parallel sequencing.
2013-02-14
... DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Internal Revenue Service Quarterly Publication of Individuals, Who Have Chosen To Expatriate, as Required by Section 6039G AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Treasury. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: This notice is provided in accordance with IRC section 6039G of the Health...
Expansion of mycobacterium-reactive gamma delta T cells by a subset of memory helper T cells.
Vila, L M; Haftel, H M; Park, H S; Lin, M S; Romzek, N C; Hanash, S M; Holoshitz, J
1995-04-01
Human gamma delta T cells expressing the V gamma 9/V delta 2 T-cell receptor have been previously found to proliferate in response to certain microorganisms and to expand throughout life, presumably because of extrathymic activation by foreign antigens. In vitro expansion of V gamma 9/V delta 2 cells by mycobacteria has been previously shown to be dependent on accessory cells. In order to gain an insight into the mechanisms involved in the expansion of these cells, we have undertaken to identify the peripheral blood subset of cells on which proliferation of V gamma 9/V delta 2 cells in response to mycobacteria is dependent. Contrary to their role in antigen presentation to alpha beta T cells, professional antigen-presenting cells, such as monocytes, B cells, and dendritic cells, were unable to provide the cellular support for the expansion of V gamma 9/V delta 2 cells. Selective depletion of T-cell subsets, as well as the use of highly purified T-cell populations, indicated that the only subset of peripheral blood cells that could expand V gamma 9/V delta 2 cells were CD4+ CD45RO+ CD7- alpha beta T cells. These cells underwent distinct intracellular signaling events after stimulation with the mycobacterial antigen. Expansion of V gamma 9/V delta 2 cells by alpha beta T cells was dependent on cell-cell contact. This is the first evidence that a small subset of the memory helper T-cell population is exclusively responsible for the peripheral expansion of V gamma 9/V delta 2 cells. These data illustrate a unique aspect of antigen recognition by gamma delta T cells and provide new means to study their immune defense role.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Moresco, Monica; Lecciso, Mariangela; Ocadlikova, Darina
2018-01-01
BACKGROUND: Type 1 narcolepsy (NT1) is a central hypersomnia linked to the destruction of hypocretin-producing neurons. A great body of genetic and epidemiological data points to likely autoimmune disease aetiology. Recent reports have characterized peripheral blood T-cell subsets in NT1, whereas...... data regarding the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) immune cell composition are lacking. The current study aimed to characterize the T-cell and natural killer (NK) cell subsets in NT1 patients with long disease course. METHODS: Immune cell subsets from CSF and peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) samples...... were analysed by flow cytometry in two age-balanced and sex-balanced groups of 14 NT1 patients versus 14 healthy controls. The frequency of CSF cell groups was compared with PBMCs. Non-parametric tests were used for statistical analyses. RESULTS: The NT1 patients did not show significant differences...
Mandala, Wilson L; Gondwe, Esther N; Molyneux, Malcolm E; MacLennan, Jenny M; MacLennan, Calman A
2017-09-01
We investigated leukocyte and lymphocyte subsets in HIV-infected or HIV-uninfected, pregnant or non-pregnant Malawian women to explore whether HIV infection and pregnancy may act synergistically to impair cellular immunity. We recruited 54 pregnant and 48 non-pregnant HIV-uninfected women and 24 pregnant and 20 non-pregnant HIV-infected Malawian women. We compared peripheral blood leukocyte and lymphocyte subsets between women in the four groups. Parturient HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected women had more neutrophils (each PHIV-uninfected parturient women had fewer CD4 + and γδ T cells, B and NK cells (each Ppregnancy. Malawian women at parturition have an increased total white cell count due to neutrophilia and an HIV-unrelated pan-lymphopenia. © 2017 The Author. American Journal of Reproductive Immunology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Multi-lingual search engine to access PubMed monolingual subsets: a feasibility study.
Darmoni, Stéfan J; Soualmia, Lina F; Griffon, Nicolas; Grosjean, Julien; Kerdelhué, Gaétan; Kergourlay, Ivan; Dahamna, Badisse
2013-01-01
PubMed contains many articles in languages other than English but it is difficult to find them using the English version of the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) Thesaurus. The aim of this work is to propose a tool allowing access to a PubMed subset in one language, and to evaluate its performance. Translations of MeSH were enriched and gathered in the information system. PubMed subsets in main European languages were also added in our database, using a dedicated parser. The CISMeF generic semantic search engine was evaluated on the response time for simple queries. MeSH descriptors are currently available in 11 languages in the information system. All the 654,000 PubMed citations in French were integrated into CISMeF database. None of the response times exceed the threshold defined for usability (2 seconds). It is now possible to freely access biomedical literature in French using a tool in French; health professionals and lay people with a low English language may find it useful. It will be expended to several European languages: German, Spanish, Norwegian and Portuguese.
Mulyasari, Joni; Mawengkang, Herman; Efendi, Syahril
2018-02-01
In a distribution network it is important to decide the locations of facilities that impacts not only the profitability of an organization but the ability to serve customers.Generally the location-routing problem is to minimize the overall cost by simultaneously selecting a subset of candidate facilities and constructing a set of delivery routes that satisfy some restrictions. In this paper we impose restriction on the route that should be passed for delivery. We use integer programming model to describe the problem. A feasible neighbourhood search is proposed to solve the result model.
Schmueck-Henneresse, Michael; Omer, Bilal; Shum, Thomas; Tashiro, Haruko; Mamonkin, Maksim; Lapteva, Natalia; Sharma, Sandhya; Rollins, Lisa; Dotti, Gianpietro; Reinke, Petra; Volk, Hans-Dieter; Rooney, Cliona M
2017-07-01
The outcome of therapy with chimeric Ag receptor (CAR)-modified T cells is strongly influenced by the subset origin of the infused T cells. However, because polyclonally activated T cells acquire a largely CD45RO + CCR7 - effector memory phenotype after expansion, regardless of subset origin, it is impossible to know which subsets contribute to the final T cell product. To determine the contribution of naive T cell, memory stem T cell, central memory T cell, effector memory T cell, and terminally differentiated effector T cell populations to the CD3 and CD28-activated CAR-modified T cells that we use for therapy, we followed the fate and function of individually sorted CAR-modified T cell subsets after activation with CD3 and CD28 Abs (CD3/28), transduction and culture alone, or after reconstitution into the relevant subset-depleted population. We show that all subsets are sensitive to CAR transduction, and each developed a distinct T cell functional profile during culture. Naive-derived T cells showed the greatest rate of proliferation but had more limited effector functions and reduced killing compared with memory-derived populations. When cultured in the presence of memory T cells, naive-derived T cells show increased differentiation, reduced effector cytokine production, and a reduced reproliferative response to CAR stimulation. CD3/28-activated T cells expanded in IL-7 and IL-15 produced greater expansion of memory stem T cells and central memory T cell-derived T cells compared with IL-2. Our strategy provides a powerful tool to elucidate the characteristics of CAR-modified T cells, regardless of the protocol used for expansion, reveals the functional properties of each expanded T cell subset, and paves the way for a more detailed evaluation of the effects of manufacturing changes on the subset contribution to in vitro-expanded T cells. Copyright © 2017 by The American Association of Immunologists, Inc.
Experimental determination of chosen document elements parameters from raster graphics sources
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jiří Rybička
2010-01-01
Full Text Available Visual appearance of documents and their formal quality is considered to be as important as the content quality. Formal and typographical quality of documents can be evaluated by an automated system that processes raster images of documents. A document is described by a formal model that treats a page as an object and also as a set of elements, whereas page elements include text and graphic object. All elements are described by their parameters depending on elements’ type. For future evaluation, mainly text objects are important. This paper describes the experimental determination of chosen document elements parameters from raster images. Techniques for image processing are used, where an image is represented as a matrix of dots and parameter values are extracted. Algorithms for parameter extraction from raster images were designed and were aimed mainly at typographical parameters like indentation, alignment, font size or spacing. Algorithms were tested on a set of 100 images of paragraphs or pages and provide very good results. Extracted parameters can be directly used for typographical quality evaluation.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Alex C. Ruane
2017-03-01
Full Text Available Abstract We present the Representative Temperature and Precipitation (T&P GCM Subsetting Approach developed within the Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP to select a practical subset of global climate models (GCMs for regional integrated assessment of climate impacts when resource limitations do not permit the full ensemble of GCMs to be evaluated given the need to also focus on impacts sector and economics models. Subsetting inherently leads to a loss of information but can free up resources to explore important uncertainties in the integrated assessment that would otherwise be prohibitive. The Representative T&P GCM Subsetting Approach identifies five individual GCMs that capture a profile of the full ensemble of temperature and precipitation change within the growing season while maintaining information about the probability that basic classes of climate changes (relatively cool/wet, cool/dry, middle, hot/wet, and hot/dry are projected in the full GCM ensemble. We demonstrate the selection methodology for maize impacts in Ames, Iowa, and discuss limitations and situations when additional information may be required to select representative GCMs. We then classify 29 GCMs over all land areas to identify regions and seasons with characteristic diagonal skewness related to surface moisture as well as extreme skewness connected to snow-albedo feedbacks and GCM uncertainty. Finally, we employ this basic approach to recognize that GCM projections demonstrate coherence across space, time, and greenhouse gas concentration pathway. The Representative T&P GCM Subsetting Approach provides a quantitative basis for the determination of useful GCM subsets, provides a practical and coherent approach where previous assessments selected solely on availability of scenarios, and may be extended for application to a range of scales and sectoral impacts.
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Sprangers, Sara, E-mail: s.l.sprangers@acta.nl [Department of Oral Cell Biology and Functional Anatomy, Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), University of Amsterdam and VU University Amsterdam, MOVE Research Institute Amsterdam, Gustav Mahlerlaan 3004, 1081 LA Amsterdam The Netherlands (Netherlands); Schoenmaker, Ton, E-mail: t.schoenmaker@acta.nl [Department of Oral Cell Biology and Functional Anatomy, Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), University of Amsterdam and VU University Amsterdam, MOVE Research Institute Amsterdam, Gustav Mahlerlaan 3004, 1081 LA Amsterdam The Netherlands (Netherlands); Department of Periodontology, Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), University of Amsterdam and VU University Amsterdam, MOVE Research Institute Amsterdam, Gustav Mahlerlaan 3004, 1081 LA Amsterdam The Netherlands (Netherlands); Cao, Yixuan, E-mail: y.cao@acta.nl [Department of Oral Cell Biology and Functional Anatomy, Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), University of Amsterdam and VU University Amsterdam, MOVE Research Institute Amsterdam, Gustav Mahlerlaan 3004, 1081 LA Amsterdam The Netherlands (Netherlands); Everts, Vincent, E-mail: v.everts@acta.nl [Department of Oral Cell Biology and Functional Anatomy, Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), University of Amsterdam and VU University Amsterdam, MOVE Research Institute Amsterdam, Gustav Mahlerlaan 3004, 1081 LA Amsterdam The Netherlands (Netherlands); Vries, Teun J. de, E-mail: teun.devries@acta.nl [Department of Oral Cell Biology and Functional Anatomy, Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), University of Amsterdam and VU University Amsterdam, MOVE Research Institute Amsterdam, Gustav Mahlerlaan 3004, 1081 LA Amsterdam The Netherlands (Netherlands); Department of Periodontology, Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), University of Amsterdam and VU University Amsterdam, MOVE Research Institute Amsterdam, Gustav Mahlerlaan 3004, 1081 LA Amsterdam The Netherlands (Netherlands)
2017-01-01
Bone-degrading osteoclasts are formed through fusion of their monocytic precursors. In the population of human peripheral blood monocytes, three distinct subsets have been identified: classical, intermediate and non-classical monocytes. We have previously shown that when the monocyte subsets are cultured on bone, significantly more osteoclasts are formed from classical monocytes than from intermediate or non-classical monocytes. Considering that this difference does not exist when monocyte subsets are cultured on plastic, we hypothesized that classical monocytes adhere better to the bone surface compared to intermediate and non-classical monocytes. To investigate this, the different monocyte subsets were isolated from human peripheral blood and cultured on slices of human bone in the presence of the cytokine M-CSF. We found that classical monocytes adhere better to bone due to a higher expression of the integrin αMβ2 and that their ability to attach to bone is significantly decreased when the integrin is blocked. This suggests that integrin αMβ2 mediates attachment of osteoclast precursors to bone and thereby enables the formation of osteoclasts.
Comparative analysis of chosen transforms in the context of de-noising harmonic signals
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Artur Zacniewski
2015-09-01
Full Text Available In the article, comparison of popular transforms used i.a. in denoising harmonical signals was presented. The division of signals submitted to mathematical analysis was shown and chosen transforms such as Short Time Fourier Transform, Wigner-Ville Distribution, Wavelet Transform and Discrete Cosine Transform were presented. Harmonic signal with white noise added was submitted for research. During research, the parameters of noise were changed to analyze the effects of using particular transform on noised signal. The importance of right choice for transform and its parameters (different for particular kind of transform was shown. Small changes in parameters or different functions used in transform can lead to considerably different results.[b]Keywords[/b]: denoising of harmonical signals, wavelet transform, discrete cosine transform, DCT
Repairable system analysis in presence of covariates and random effects
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Giorgio, M.; Guida, M.; Pulcini, G.
2014-01-01
This paper aims to model the failure pattern of repairable systems in presence of explained and unexplained heterogeneity. The failure pattern of each system is described by a Power Law Process. Part of the heterogeneity among the patterns is explained through the use of a covariate, and the residual unexplained heterogeneity (random effects) is modeled via a joint probability distribution on the PLP parameters. The proposed approach is applied to a real set of failure time data of powertrain systems mounted on 33 buses employed in urban and suburban routes. Moreover, the joint probability distribution on the PLP parameters estimated from the data is used as an informative prior to make Bayesian inference on the future failure process of a generic system belonging to the same population and employed in an urban or suburban route under randomly chosen working conditions. - Highlights: • We describe the failure process of buses powertrain system subject to heterogeneity. • Heterogeneity due to different service types is explained by a covariate. • Random effect is modeled through a joint pdf on failure process parameters. • The powertrain reliability under new future operating conditions is estimated
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ramoni Marco F
2007-03-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background Recent studies have shown that when individuals are grouped on the basis of genetic similarity, group membership corresponds closely to continental origin. There has been considerable debate about the implications of these findings in the context of larger debates about race and the extent of genetic variation between groups. Some have argued that clustering according to continental origin demonstrates the existence of significant genetic differences between groups and that these differences may have important implications for differences in health and disease. Others argue that clustering according to continental origin requires the use of large amounts of genetic data or specifically chosen markers and is indicative only of very subtle genetic differences that are unlikely to have biomedical significance. Results We used small numbers of randomly selected single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs from the International HapMap Project to train naïve Bayes classifiers for prediction of ancestral continent of origin. Predictive accuracy was tested on two independent data sets. Genetically similar groups should be difficult to distinguish, especially if only a small number of genetic markers are used. The genetic differences between continentally defined groups are sufficiently large that one can accurately predict ancestral continent of origin using only a minute, randomly selected fraction of the genetic variation present in the human genome. Genotype data from only 50 random SNPs was sufficient to predict ancestral continent of origin in our primary test data set with an average accuracy of 95%. Genetic variations informative about ancestry were common and widely distributed throughout the genome. Conclusion Accurate characterization of ancestry is possible using small numbers of randomly selected SNPs. The results presented here show how investigators conducting genetic association studies can use small numbers of arbitrarily
Boeker, Martin; Vach, Werner; Motschall, Edith
2013-01-01
To quantitatively describe (1) differences between search results derived at consecutive time points with the PubMed and OvidSP literature search interfaces over a five day interval, and (2) the migration of citations through different subsets to estimate the timeliness of OvidSP. PubMed-Identifiers (PMIDs) of the following subsets were retrieved from PubMed and OvidSP simultaneously (within 8 h) at 11 days in March and April 2010 including 5 consecutive days: as supplied by publisher, in process, PubMed not MEDLINE, and OLDMEDLINE. Search results were compared for difference and intersection sets. The migration of citations on individual level was determined by comparison of corresponding sets over several days. The "in process" set was stable with about 446,000 - 452,000 citations; a small fraction of up to 3 % of the total subsets were in PubMed only and OvidSP only subsets. About 96 % of the ca. 10,500 citations in the OvidSP only subset migrated within 2 days out of the "in process" subset. The database of OvidSP is updated within a period of two days.
Shen, Jin-Chun; Sun, He-Liang; Zhang, Ming-Qiang; Liu, Xiao-Yu; Wang, Zhong- Yun; Yang, Jian-Jun
2014-08-01
Acute pain can lead to immune dysfunction, which can be partly ameliorated by successful pain management. Opioids, which are widely used for analgesia, can result in the deterioration of immune function. This study aimed to investigate the influence of morphine with or without flurbiprofen as post-operative analgesics on the immune systems of patients undergoing gastric cancer surgery. 60 patients undergoing gastric cancer surgery were equally randomized into two groups. They received post-operative patient-controlled intravenous (IV) analgesia using morphine either with or without flurbiprofen. Visual analogue scale (VAS) scores, Bruggemann comfort scale (BCS) scores, morphine consumption, time of first flatus, incidence of nausea/vomiting, and T-lymphocyte subsets (CD3⁺, CD4⁺, and CD8⁺) and natural killer cells (CD3⁻CD16⁺CD56⁺) were evaluated. No significant difference was observed in the VAS scores, BCS scores, and nausea/vomiting incidence between groups. Less morphine was consumed and the time of first flatus was earlier in patients receiving morphine with flurbiprofen than morphine alone. The expression of CD3⁺, CD4⁺, CD4⁺/CD8⁺, and CD3⁻CD16⁺CD56⁺ decreased at 2 hours after incision and, except for CD3⁻CD16⁺CD56⁺, returned to baseline at 120 hours after surgery. Moreover, the expression of CD3⁻CD16⁺CD56⁺ at 2 hours after incision and the expression of CD3⁺, CD4⁺, CD4⁺/CD8⁺, and CD3⁻CD16⁺CD56⁺ at 24 hours after surgery were higher in patients receiving morphine with flurbiprofen than morphine alone. The combination of morphine and flurbiprofen ameliorates the immune depression in Tlymphocyte subsets and natural killer cells and provides a similar analgesic efficacy to morphine alone in patients undergoing gastric cancer surgery.
National Research Council Canada - National Science Library
Woolston, Donald
1949-01-01
The present paper reports the results of a series of flutter studies including comparisons of experimental results with calculations based on a Rayleigh type analysis, in which chosen modes are assumed...
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ewa Klimek
2014-01-01
Full Text Available Objectives. To evaluate blood monocyte subsets and functional monocyte properties in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA of short duration in the context of cardiovascular (CV risk and disease activity. Methods. We studied conventional markers of CV risk, intima media thickness (IMT, and blood monocyte subsets in 27 patients aged 41 ± 10 years with RA of short duration (median 12 months and 22 healthy controls. The RA subjects were divided into low (DAS28: 2.6–5.1 and high (DAS28 > 5.1 disease activity. Results. RA patients exhibited increased levels of intermediate (CD14++CD16+ monocytes with decreased CD45RA expression compared to controls, increased counts of classical (CD14++CD16− monocytes, and decreased percentages of nonclassical (CD14+CD16++ monocytes. Patients with high disease activity had lower HLA DR expression on classical monocytes compared to low disease activity patients. There were no differences in monocyte subsets between subjects with DAS > 5.1 and DAS ≤ 5.1. There were no significant intergroup differences in IMT and the majority of classical CV risk factors. Conclusions. Patients with RA of short duration show alteration in peripheral blood monocyte subsets despite the fact that there is no evidence of subclinical atherosclerosis. Disease activity assessed with DAS28 was associated with impaired functional properties but not with a shift in monocyte subpopulations.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Xi Peng
2014-08-01
Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of corn naturally contaminated with aflatoxin B1 and aflatoxin B2 on pathological lesions, apoptosis, cell cycle phases and T lymphocyte subsets of spleen, and to provide an experimental basis for understanding the mechanism of aflatoxin-induced immunosuppression. A total of 900 COBB500 male broilers were randomly allocated into five groups with six replicates per group and 30 birds per replicate. The experiment lasted for 6 weeks and the five dietary treatments consisted of control, 25% contaminated corn, 50% contaminated corn, 75% contaminated corn and 100% contaminated corn groups. The histopathological spleen lesions from the contaminated corn groups was characterized as congestion of red pulp, increased necrotic cells and vacuoles in the splenic corpuscle and periarterial lymphatic sheath. The contaminated corn intake significantly increased relative weight of spleen, percentages of apoptotic splenocytes, induced cell cycle arrest of splenocytes, increased the percentages of CD3+CD8+ T cells and decreased the ratios of CD3+CD4+ to CD3+CD8+. The results suggest that AFB-induced immunosuppression maybe closely related to the lesions of spleen.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Himmelreich Uwe
2009-07-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background Regularized regression methods such as principal component or partial least squares regression perform well in learning tasks on high dimensional spectral data, but cannot explicitly eliminate irrelevant features. The random forest classifier with its associated Gini feature importance, on the other hand, allows for an explicit feature elimination, but may not be optimally adapted to spectral data due to the topology of its constituent classification trees which are based on orthogonal splits in feature space. Results We propose to combine the best of both approaches, and evaluated the joint use of a feature selection based on a recursive feature elimination using the Gini importance of random forests' together with regularized classification methods on spectral data sets from medical diagnostics, chemotaxonomy, biomedical analytics, food science, and synthetically modified spectral data. Here, a feature selection using the Gini feature importance with a regularized classification by discriminant partial least squares regression performed as well as or better than a filtering according to different univariate statistical tests, or using regression coefficients in a backward feature elimination. It outperformed the direct application of the random forest classifier, or the direct application of the regularized classifiers on the full set of features. Conclusion The Gini importance of the random forest provided superior means for measuring feature relevance on spectral data, but – on an optimal subset of features – the regularized classifiers might be preferable over the random forest classifier, in spite of their limitation to model linear dependencies only. A feature selection based on Gini importance, however, may precede a regularized linear classification to identify this optimal subset of features, and to earn a double benefit of both dimensionality reduction and the elimination of noise from the classification task.
A Method of Approximating Expectations of Functions of Sums of Independent Random Variables
Klass, Michael J.
1981-01-01
Let $X_1, X_2, \\cdots$ be a sequence of independent random variables with $S_n = \\sum^n_{i = 1} X_i$. Fix $\\alpha > 0$. Let $\\Phi(\\cdot)$ be a continuous, strictly increasing function on $\\lbrack 0, \\infty)$ such that $\\Phi(0) = 0$ and $\\Phi(cx) \\leq c^\\alpha\\Phi(x)$ for all $x > 0$ and all $c \\geq 2$. Suppose $a$ is a real number and $J$ is a finite nonempty subset of the positive integers. In this paper we are interested in approximating $E \\max_{j \\in J} \\Phi(|a + S_j|)$. We construct a nu...
Hybrid Percolation Transition in Cluster Merging Processes: Continuously Varying Exponents
Cho, Y. S.; Lee, J. S.; Herrmann, H. J.; Kahng, B.
2016-01-01
Consider growing a network, in which every new connection is made between two disconnected nodes. At least one node is chosen randomly from a subset consisting of g fraction of the entire population in the smallest clusters. Here we show that this simple strategy for improving connection exhibits a more unusual phase transition, namely a hybrid percolation transition exhibiting the properties of both first-order and second-order phase transitions. The cluster size distribution of finite clusters at a transition point exhibits power-law behavior with a continuously varying exponent τ in the range 2 power-law behavior of the avalanche size distribution arising in models with link-deleting processes in interdependent networks.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Gualde, N.; Goodwin, J.S.
1984-01-01
Unfractionated human T cells exposed to 10-50 rad of X irradiation incorporated less [ 3 H]thymidine than nonirradiated T cells when subsequently cultured with PHA or Con A. The cytotoxic/suppressor T-cell subset, isolated as either OKT8(+) or OKT4(-) cells, demonstrated significantly enhanced [ 3 H]thymidine incorporation in PHA- or Con A-stimulated cultures after exposure to 10-50 rad, compared to unirradiated cells, while the proliferation of the OKT4(+) helper/inducer subset was inhibited by low dose irradiation. It has been previously reported that approximately 30% of the cytotoxic/suppressor subset also stains with OKM1. When the cytotoxic/suppressor subset was further subdivided into OKT4(-), OKM1(+), and OKT4(-), OKM1(-) cells, proliferation of the OKT4(-), OKM1(+) population was inhibited by exposure to 25 rad while proliferation of the OKT4(-), OKM1(-) population was stimulated. The increase in proliferation of the cytotoxic/suppressor T-cell subset after low dose irradiation is paralleled by an increase in suppressor activity of these cells. T cells exposed to 25 rad and then cultured with Con A for 48 hr caused greater inhibition of IgG production when added to fresh autologous lymphocytes stimulated by pokeweed mitogen than did unirradiated cells. Thus, low dose irradiation enhances both the proliferation and function of the human suppressor T-cell subset
Nurmi, Erika L; Dowd, Michael; Tadevosyan-Leyfer, Ovsanna; Haines, Jonathan L; Folstein, Susan E; Sutcliffe, James S
2003-07-01
Autism displays a remarkably high heritability but a complex genetic etiology. One approach to identifying susceptibility loci under these conditions is to define more homogeneous subsets of families on the basis of genetically relevant phenotypic or biological characteristics that vary from case to case. The authors performed a principal components analysis, using items from the Autism Diagnostic Interview, which resulted in six clusters of variables, five of which showed significant sib-sib correlation. The utility of these phenotypic subsets was tested in an exploratory genetic analysis of the autism candidate region on chromosome 15q11-q13. When the Collaborative Linkage Study of Autism sample was divided, on the basis of mean proband score for the "savant skills" cluster, the heterogeneity logarithm of the odds under a recessive model at D15S511, within the GABRB3 gene, increased from 0.6 to 2.6 in the subset of families in which probands had greater savant skills. These data are consistent with the genetic contribution of a 15q locus to autism susceptibility in a subset of affected individuals exhibiting savant skills. Similar types of skills have been noted in individuals with Prader-Willi syndrome, which results from deletions of this chromosomal region.
Randomized interpolative decomposition of separated representations
Biagioni, David J.; Beylkin, Daniel; Beylkin, Gregory
2015-01-01
We introduce an algorithm to compute tensor interpolative decomposition (dubbed CTD-ID) for the reduction of the separation rank of Canonical Tensor Decompositions (CTDs). Tensor ID selects, for a user-defined accuracy ɛ, a near optimal subset of terms of a CTD to represent the remaining terms via a linear combination of the selected terms. CTD-ID can be used as an alternative to or in combination with the Alternating Least Squares (ALS) algorithm. We present examples of its use within a convergent iteration to compute inverse operators in high dimensions. We also briefly discuss the spectral norm as a computational alternative to the Frobenius norm in estimating approximation errors of tensor ID. We reduce the problem of finding tensor IDs to that of constructing interpolative decompositions of certain matrices. These matrices are generated via randomized projection of the terms of the given tensor. We provide cost estimates and several examples of the new approach to the reduction of separation rank.
Seronegative necrolytic acral erythema: A distinct clinical subset?
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Panda S
2010-01-01
Full Text Available A patient was referred to us with asymptomatic, erythematous, nonitchy, scaly lesions present bilaterally on the dorsa of his feet and toes since the last 2 months. Both the legs had pitting edema as well. There were hyperkeratosis, focal parakeratosis, acanthosis and scattered spongiosis in the epidermis, and proliferation of capillaries with perivascular infiltration of lymphomononuclear cells in the dermis. There was no serological evidence of hepatitis C virus. Laboratory investigations revealed hypoalbuminemia and low-normal serum zinc. On clinicopathological correlation, we made a diagnosis of necrolytic acral erythema (NAE. The lesions responded dramatically to oral zinc sulfate and topical clobetasol propionate within 3 weeks with disappearance of edema and scaling and only a minimal residual erythema. This is the first reported case of NAE from Eastern India. NAE with negative serology for hepatitis C may be viewed as a distinct subset of the condition that had been originally described.
Human papilloma virus: a new risk factor in a subset of head and neck cancers.
Bisht, Manisha; Bist, Sampan Singh
2011-01-01
Head and neck cancer is the sixth most common malignancy worldwide. Tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption are two well known behavioral risk factors associated with head and neck cancer. Recently, evidence is mounting that infection with human papilloma virus, most commonly human papilloma virus-16 is responsible for a subset of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma especially tumors of tonsillar origin. The molecular pathway used by human papilloma virus to trigger malignant transformation of tissue is different from that of other well known risk factors, i.e. smoking and alcohol, associated with squamous cell carcinoma. Apparently, these subsets of patients with human papilloma virus positive tumor are more likely to have a better prognosis than human papilloma virus negative tumor. Considering this fact, the human papilloma virus infection should be determined in all oropharyngeal cancers since it can have a major impact on the decision making process of the treatment.
Proteome profiling of human neutrophil granule subsets, secretory vesicles, and cell membrane
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Rørvig, Sara; Østergaard, Ole; Heegaard, Niels Henrik Helweg
2013-01-01
granules, SVs, and plasma membrane has been performed before. Here, we performed subcellular fractionation on freshly isolated human neutrophils by nitrogen cavitation and density centrifugation on a four-layer Percoll gradient. Granule subsets were pooled and subjected to SDS-PAGE, and gel pieces were in...... subcellular proteome profiles presented here may be used as a database in combination with the mRNA array database to predict and test the presence and localization of proteins in neutrophil granules and membranes....
Experimental analysis of the flow near the boundary of random porous media
Wu, Zhenxing; Mirbod, Parisa
2018-04-01
The aim of this work is to experimentally examine flow over and near random porous media. Different porous materials were chosen to achieve porosity ranging from 0.95 to 0.99. In this study, we report the detailed velocity measurements of the flow over and near random porous material inside a rectangular duct using a planar particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique. By controlling the flow rate, two different Reynolds numbers were achieved. We determined the slip velocity at the interface between the porous media and free flow. Values of the slip velocity normalized either by the maximum flow velocity or by the shear rate at the interface and the screening distance K1/2 were found to depend on porosity. It was also shown that the depth of penetration inside the porous material was larger than the screening length using Brinkman's prediction. Moreover, we examined a model for the laminar coupled flow over and inside porous media and analyzed the permeability of a random porous medium. This study provided detailed analysis of flow over and at the interface of various specific random porous media using the PIV technique. This analysis has the potential to serve as a first step toward using random porous media as a new passive technique to control the flow over smooth surfaces.
Isolation of Human Skin Dendritic Cell Subsets.
Gunawan, Merry; Jardine, Laura; Haniffa, Muzlifah
2016-01-01
Dendritic cells (DCs) are specialized leukocytes with antigen-processing and antigen-presenting functions. DCs can be divided into distinct subsets by anatomical location, phenotype and function. In human, the two most accessible tissues to study leukocytes are peripheral blood and skin. DCs are rare in human peripheral blood (skin covering an average total surface area of 1.8 m(2) has approximately tenfold more DCs than the average 5 L of total blood volume (Wang et al., J Invest Dermatol 134:965-974, 2014). DCs migrate spontaneously from skin explants cultured ex vivo, which provide an easy method of cell isolation (Larsen et al., J Exp Med 172:1483-1493, 1990; Lenz et al., J Clin Invest 92:2587-2596, 1993; Nestle et al., J Immunol 151:6535-6545, 1993). These factors led to the extensive use of skin DCs as the "prototype" migratory DCs in human studies. In this chapter, we detail the protocols to isolate DCs and resident macrophages from human skin. We also provide a multiparameter flow cytometry gating strategy to identify human skin DCs and to distinguish them from macrophages.
The influences of age on T lymphocyte subsets in C57BL/6 mice
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jing Xie
2017-01-01
Full Text Available The aim of this study is to evaluate the age related changes of T lymphocyte subsets in C57BL/6 mice and immune function. Multi-color immunofluorescence techniques that were used to analyse relative numbers of T lymphocyte subsets include CD4+, CD8+, naive and memory CD4+ and CD8+, CD8+CD28+ T cells in peripheral blood of C57BL/6 mice from different age groups (Group I: 2 months old; Group II: 7 months old; Group III: 21 months old; Splenocytes isolated from different group mice were stimulated with Con A to evaluate the proliferative ability. Compared with group I, group II had a significant reduction in the percentage of CD4+, naive CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and an increase in the percentage of CD8+ T cells, while group III had a significant reduction in the percentage of CD4+, naive CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and increase in the percentage of CD8+, memory CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in peripheral blood. Compared with group II, group III had a significant reduction in the percentage of naive CD8+ T cells and increase in the percentage of memory CD4+ and CD8+, CD8+CD28+ T cells in peripheral blood. The T lymphocyte proliferation in vitro showed that groups II and III had a lower proliferative capacity than group I, between groups II and III, there was not a significant difference. We provide relative values for the T lymphocyte subsets in the different age groups of C57BL/6 mice. The immune system began aging at 7 months old in C57BL/6 mice under a specific pathogen free environment.
Distribution of cyclophilin B-binding sites in the subsets of human peripheral blood lymphocytes.
Denys, A; Allain, F; Foxwell, B; Spik, G
1997-08-01
Cyclophilin B (CyPB) is a cyclosporin A (CsA)-binding protein, mainly associated with the secretory pathway and released in biological fluids. We have recently demonstrated that both free CyPB and CyPB-CsA complex specifically bind to peripheral blood T lymphocytes and are internalized. These results suggest that CyPB might promote the targeting of the drug into sensitive cells. Peripheral blood lymphocytes are subdivided in several populations according to their biological functions and sensitivity to CsA. We have investigated the binding of CyPB to these different subsets using a CyPB derivatized by fluorescein through its single cysteine which retains its binding properties. We have confirmed that only T cells were involved in the interaction with CyPB. The ligand binding was found to be heterogeneously distributed on the different T-cell subsets and surface-bound CyPB was mainly associated with the CD4-positive cells. No significant difference was noted between the CD45RA and CD45RO subsets, demonstrating that CyPB-binding sites were equally distributed between native and memory T cells. CD3 stimulation of T lymphocytes led to a decrease in the CyPB-binding capacity, that may be explained by a down-regulation of the CyPB-receptor expression upon T-cell activation. Finally, we demonstrated that CyPB-receptor-positive cells, isolated on CyPB sulphydryl-coupled affinity matrices, are more sensitive to CyPB-complexed CsA than mixed peripheral blood lymphocytes, suggesting that CyPB potentiates CsA activity through the binding of the complex. Taken together, our results demonstrate that CyPB-binding sites are mainly associated with resting cells of the helper T lymphocyte, and that CyPB might modulate the distribution of CsA through the drug targeting to sensitive cells.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Strefford, J C; Sutton, L-A; Baliakas, P
2013-01-01
Recent studies have revealed recurrent mutations of the NOTCH1, SF3B1 and BIRC3 genes in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), especially among aggressive, chemorefractory cases. Nevertheless, it is currently unknown whether their presence may differ in subsets of patients carrying stereotyped B...
DOWN, JD; BOUDEWIJN, A; VANOS, R; THAMES, HD; PLOEMACHER, RE
1995-01-01
The radiation dose-survival of various hematopoietic cell subsets in murine bone marrow (BM) was determined in the cobblestone area forming cell (CAFC) assay under conditions of single-, split-, and multiple-dose irradiation. A greater recovery in cell survival with decreasing dose per fraction, or
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Tom Bongiorno
Full Text Available The highly proliferative and pluripotent characteristics of embryonic stem cells engender great promise for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, but the rapid identification and isolation of target cell phenotypes remains challenging. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to characterize cell mechanics as a function of differentiation and to employ differences in cell stiffness to select population subsets with distinct mechanical, morphological, and biological properties. Biomechanical analysis with atomic force microscopy revealed that embryonic stem cells stiffened within one day of differentiation induced by leukemia inhibitory factor removal, with a lagging but pronounced change from spherical to spindle-shaped cell morphology. A microfluidic device was then employed to sort a differentially labeled mixture of pluripotent and differentiating cells based on stiffness, resulting in pluripotent cell enrichment in the soft device outlet. Furthermore, sorting an unlabeled population of partially differentiated cells produced a subset of "soft" cells that was enriched for the pluripotent phenotype, as assessed by post-sort characterization of cell mechanics, morphology, and gene expression. The results of this study indicate that intrinsic cell mechanical properties might serve as a basis for efficient, high-throughput, and label-free isolation of pluripotent stem cells, which will facilitate a greater biological understanding of pluripotency and advance the potential of pluripotent stem cell differentiated progeny as cell sources for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.
Peripheral blood monocyte subsets predict antiviral response in chronic hepatitis C.
Rodríguez-Muñoz, Y; Martín-Vílchez, S; López-Rodríguez, R; Hernández-Bartolomé, A; Trapero-Marugán, M; Borque, M J; Moreno-Otero, R; Sanz-Cameno, P
2011-10-01
Hepatitis C virus infection evolves into chronic progressive liver disease in a significant percentage of patients. Monocytes constitute a diverse group of myeloid cells that mediate innate and adaptive immune response. In addition to proinflammatory CD16+ monocytes, a Tie-2+ subgroup - Tie-2 expressing monocytes (TEMs) - that has robust proangiogenic potential has been recently defined. To study the heterogeneity of peripheral blood monocytes in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients and to examine their proposed pathophysiological roles on disease progression and response to antiviral therapy. We studied CD16+ and Tie-2+ peripheral monocyte subpopulations in 21 healthy subjects and 39 CHC patients in various stages of disease and responses to antiviral treatment using flow cytometry. Expression profiles of proangiogenic and tissue remodelling factors in monocyte supernatants were measured using ELISA and protein arrays. Intrahepatic expression of CD14, CD31 and Tie-2 was analysed using immunofluorescence. Increases of certain peripheral monocyte subsets were observed in the blood of CHC patients, wherein those cells with proinflammatory (CD16+) or proangiogenic (TEMs) potential expanded (P TEMs were significantly increased in nonresponders, particularly those with lower CD16 expression. In addition, many angiogenic factors were differentially expressed by peripheral monocytes from control or CHC patients, such as angiopoietin-1 and angiogenin (P TEMs were distinguished within portal infiltrates of CHC patients. These findings suggest for the first time the relevance of peripheral monocytes phenotypes for the achievement of response to treatment. Hence, the study of monocyte subset regulation might effect improved CHC prognoses and adjuvant therapies. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Tonney S Nyirenda
2010-10-01
Full Text Available Nontyphoidal Salmonellae frequently cause life-threatening bacteremia in sub-Saharan Africa. Young children and HIV-infected adults are particularly susceptible. High case-fatality rates and increasing antibiotic resistance require new approaches to the management of this disease. Impaired cellular immunity caused by defects in the T helper 1 pathway lead to intracellular disease with Salmonella that can be countered by IFNγ administration. This report identifies the lymphocyte subsets that produce IFNγ early in Salmonella infection.Intracellular cytokine staining was used to identify IFNγ production in blood lymphocyte subsets of ten healthy adults with antibodies to Salmonella (as evidence of immunity to Salmonella, in response to stimulation with live and heat-killed preparations of the D23580 invasive African isolate of Salmonella Typhimurium. The absolute number of IFNγ-producing cells in innate, innate-like and adaptive lymphocyte subpopulations was determined.Early IFNγ production was found in the innate/innate-like lymphocyte subsets: γδ-T cells, NK cells and NK-like T cells. Significantly higher percentages of such cells produced IFNγ compared to adaptive αβ-T cells (Student's t test, P<0.001 and ≤0.02 for each innate subset compared, respectively, with CD4(+- and CD8(+-T cells. The absolute numbers of IFNγ-producing cells showed similar differences. The proportion of IFNγ-producing γδ-T cells, but not other lymphocytes, was significantly higher when stimulated with live compared with heat-killed bacteria (P<0.0001.Our findings indicate an inherent capacity of innate/innate-like lymphocyte subsets to produce IFNγ early in the response to Salmonella infection. This may serve to control intracellular infection and reduce the threat of extracellular spread of disease with bacteremia which becomes life-threatening in the absence of protective antibody. These innate cells may also help mitigate against the effect on IFN
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jie-Qun Guo
2016-10-01
Full Text Available Objective: To investigate the effects of dendritic cells (DC and cytokine induced killer cells (CIK on tumor markers and T cell subsets in peripheral blood of patients with advanced ovarian cancer. Methods: A total of 100 cases of patients with advanced ovarian cancer who were proved by operation and pathology in the department of gynecologic oncology in our hospital were selected from April 2013 to April 20l6, and randomly divided into experimental group and control group, the control group was treated with TC (Taxinol+Cisplat chemotherapy alone, the experimental group was treated with DC-CIK combined with chemotherapy. Before and after treatment, the changes of CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, CD4+/CD8+, CD4+/CD25+, NK cells in peripheral blood and serum tumor markers (CA125, CA19-9, HE4 were detected. Results: Before treatment, the phenotypes of T cell subsets in the two groups were not significantly different; in the experimental group after treatment, the levels of CD3+, CD4+, CD4+/CD8+, and NK cells were increased,while the levels of CD4+/CD25+ and CD8+ were decreased, compared with before treatment, the differences were statistically significant; the phenotype changes of T cells were not statistically significant before and after treatment in the control group; after treatment, there were significant differences in the levels of CD4+, CD8+, CD4+/CD8+, CD4+/CD25+ and NK cells between the two groups. Before treatment, there were no significant differences in HE4 value, CA125 value and CA19-9 value between the two groups; after treatment, the tumor markers in the two groups were all decreased, and the difference was significant as compared with those before treatment; after treatment, the CA125 value, CA19-9 value and HE4 value were (73.68±79.46 U/mL, (54.32±32.85 U/mL and (69.57±39.85 pmol/L respectively, the values of three tumor markers were compared with the control group, with a statistical difference. Conclusion: DC-CIK treatment can improve the
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
van Dijken, Jan Wv; Pallesen, Ulla
2014-01-01
Purpose: To evaluate the 10-year durability of a nanohybrid resin composite in Class II restorations in a randomized controlled intraindividual comparison with its conventional hybrid resin composite predecessor. Materials and Methods: Each of 52 participants received at least two Class II...... restorations that were as similar as possible. The cavities were chosen at random to be restored with a nanohybrid resin composite (Excite/Tetric EvoCeram (TEC); n = 61) and a conventional hybrid (Excite/Tetric Ceram (TC); n = 61). The restorations were evaluated with slightly modified USPHS criteria...... investigated resin composites. Conclusion: The nanohybrid and the conventional hybrid resin composite showed good clinical effectiveness in extensive Class II restorations during the 10-year study....
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Tan Nhat Nguyen
2016-01-01
Full Text Available In this paper, we evaluate performances of various user selection protocols under impact of hardware impairments. In the considered protocols, a Base Station (BS selects one of available Users (US to serve, while the remaining USs harvest the energy from the Radio Frequency (RF transmitted by the BS. We assume that all of the US randomly appear around the BS. In the Random Selection Protocol (RAN, the BS randomly selects a US to transmit the data. In the second proposed protocol, named Minimum Distance Protocol (MIND, the US that is nearest to the BS will be chosen. In the Optimal Selection Protocol (OPT, the US providing the highest channel gain between itself and the BS will be served. For performance evaluation, we derive exact and asymptotic closed-form expressions of average Outage Probability (OP over Rayleigh fading channels. We also consider average harvested energy per a US. Finally, Monte-Carlo simulations are then performed to verify the theoretical results.
Fried-Oken, Melanie; Daniels, Darlene; Ettinger, Olivia; Mooney, Aimee; Noethe, Glory; Rowland, Charity
2015-05-01
Conversational topics chosen by a group of adults with degenerative cognitive-linguistic disorders for personalized communication board development were examined. The patient-generated themes commonly selected are presented to guide treatment planning and communication board development. Communication boards were created for 109 adults as part of a larger research project. One autobiographical topic that each participant would enjoy discussing multiple times was represented on each communication board with 16 pictures and word labels. For this review, topics were collapsed into general themes through a consensus process and examined by gender and age. Sixty unique conversational topics were identified from 109 participants and collapsed into 9 general themes: Hobbies, Family, Travel, Work, Home/Places I've Lived, Sports/Fitness, Religion, Animals, and World War II. Age and gender produced variations in themes chosen, though no significance in rank orders was found across groups. Topics selected by adults with degenerative cognitive-linguistic disorders for communication boards resemble common conversational adult themes and do not center around basic needs or medical issues. Differences in gender and age for topic selection tend to be based on traditional roles. These general themes should be used when creating personalized communication boards for those who benefit from conversational aids.
Urofacial syndrome: A subset of neurogenic bladder dysfunction syndromes?
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
K N Stamatiou
2010-01-01
Full Text Available The urofacial syndrome is probably a subset of neurogenic bladder dysfunction syndromes characterized by detrusor-sphincter discoordination along with a characteristic inversion of facial expression with laughing. This characteristic facial expression can facilitate early detection of this disorder, which leads to poor bladder emptying with high residual urine, hydro-nephrosis with vesico-ureteral reflux and potentially renal failure if left untreated. The etiology of the urofacial syndrome is unknown. In our case, a 12-year-old boy of Middle-Eastern origin presented to the Outpatient Department of our hospital with left pyelonephritis, hydronephrosis and bladder dilatation. Voiding cystourethrography performed 15 days later revealed left vesicoureteral reflux. Cystoscopy revealed bladder trabeculation however an anatomic urethral obstruction was not noticed. Both, neurological examination and radiography of the lumbosacral spine were normal. Urodynamic evaluation revealed the typical findings of detrusor-sphincter discoordination.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Hou-Jun Xia
Full Text Available Non-human primates such as Chinese rhesus macaques (Ch Rhs provide good animal models for research on human infectious diseases. Similar to humans, there are two principal subsets of dendritic cells (DCs in the peripheral blood of Ch Rhs: myeloid DCs (mDCs and plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs. In this study, two-color fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS analyses were used to identify the main DC subsets, namely CD1c(+ mDCs and pDCs from Ch Rhs. Then, the apoptosis and immunophenotype changes of DCs subsets were first described during the acute phase of SIVmac239 infection. Both the DCs subsets showed decreased CD4 expression and enhanced CCR5 expression; in particular, those of pDCs significantly changed at most time points. Interestingly, the plasma viral loads were negatively correlated with CD4 expression, but were positively correlated with CCR5 expression of pDCs. During this period, both CD1c(+ mDCs and pDCs were activated by enhancing expressions of co-stimulatory molecules, accompanied with increase in CCR7. Either CD80 or CD86 expressed on CD1c(+ mDCs and pDCs was positively correlated with the plasma viral loads. Our analysis demonstrates that the pDCs were more prone to apoptosis after infection during the acute phase of SIVmac239 infection, which may be due to their high expressions of CD4 and CCR5. Both DCs subsets activated through elevating the expression of co-stimulatory molecules, which was beneficial in controlling the replication of SIV. However, a mere broad immune activation initiated by activated DCs may lead to tragic AIDS progression.
Random and systematic beam modulator errors in dynamic intensity modulated radiotherapy
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Parsai, Homayon; Cho, Paul S; Phillips, Mark H; Giansiracusa, Robert S; Axen, David
2003-01-01
This paper reports on the dosimetric effects of random and systematic modulator errors in delivery of dynamic intensity modulated beams. A sliding-widow type delivery that utilizes a combination of multileaf collimators (MLCs) and backup diaphragms was examined. Gaussian functions with standard deviations ranging from 0.5 to 1.5 mm were used to simulate random positioning errors. A clinical example involving a clival meningioma was chosen with optic chiasm and brain stem as limiting critical structures in the vicinity of the tumour. Dose calculations for different modulator fluctuations were performed, and a quantitative analysis was carried out based on cumulative and differential dose volume histograms for the gross target volume and surrounding critical structures. The study indicated that random modulator errors have a strong tendency to reduce minimum target dose and homogeneity. Furthermore, it was shown that random perturbation of both MLCs and backup diaphragms in the order of σ = 1 mm can lead to 5% errors in prescribed dose. In comparison, when MLCs or backup diaphragms alone was perturbed, the system was more robust and modulator errors of at least σ = 1.5 mm were required to cause dose discrepancies greater than 5%. For systematic perturbation, even errors in the order of ±0.5 mm were shown to result in significant dosimetric deviations
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Cheng, J-C; Rahmim, Arman; Blinder, Stephan; Camborde, Marie-Laure; Raywood, Kelvin; Sossi, Vesna
2007-01-01
We describe an ordinary Poisson list-mode expectation maximization (OP-LMEM) algorithm with a sinogram-based scatter correction method based on the single scatter simulation (SSS) technique and a random correction method based on the variance-reduced delayed-coincidence technique. We also describe a practical approximate scatter and random-estimation approach for dynamic PET studies based on a time-averaged scatter and random estimate followed by scaling according to the global numbers of true coincidences and randoms for each temporal frame. The quantitative accuracy achieved using OP-LMEM was compared to that obtained using the histogram-mode 3D ordinary Poisson ordered subset expectation maximization (3D-OP) algorithm with similar scatter and random correction methods, and they showed excellent agreement. The accuracy of the approximated scatter and random estimates was tested by comparing time activity curves (TACs) as well as the spatial scatter distribution from dynamic non-human primate studies obtained from the conventional (frame-based) approach and those obtained from the approximate approach. An excellent agreement was found, and the time required for the calculation of scatter and random estimates in the dynamic studies became much less dependent on the number of frames (we achieved a nearly four times faster performance on the scatter and random estimates by applying the proposed method). The precision of the scatter fraction was also demonstrated for the conventional and the approximate approach using phantom studies
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Akıncı, Ümit
2012-01-01
The effect of the random magnetic field distribution on the phase diagrams and ground state magnetizations of the Ising nanowire has been investigated with effective field theory with correlations. Gaussian distribution has been chosen as a random magnetic field distribution. The variation of the phase diagrams with that distribution parameters has been obtained and some interesting results have been found such as disappearance of the reentrant behavior and first order transitions which appear in the case of discrete distributions. Also for single and double Gaussian distributions, ground state magnetizations for different distribution parameters have been determined which can be regarded as separate partially ordered phases of the system. - Highlights: ► We give the phase diagrams of the Ising nanowire under the continuous randomly distributed magnetic field. ► Ground state magnetization values obtained. ► Different partially ordered phases observed.
Zhao, Sha-Sha; Fang, Shu; Zhu, Cheng-Ying; Wang, Li-Li; Gao, Chun-Ji
2018-02-01
To investigate the effect of granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) in vitro stimulation on the distribution of lymphocyte subset in healthy human. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNCs) were collected from 8 healthy volunteers by density gradient centrifugation on Ficoll-Paque TM . In vitro 200 ng/ml G-CSF or 200 ng/ml G-CSF plus 10 µg/ml ConA directly act on PBMNCs, then the colleted cells were cultivated for 3 days. Lymphocyte subsets were stained with the corresponding fluoresce labeled antibodies and detected by flow cytometry. The levels of T cells in G-CSF group and G-CSF+ConA group were both higher than that in the control group (PCSF on T cell subsets indicated that the levels of CD4 + T cells and CD8 + T cells in G-CSF group were both significantly higher than those in control group (PCSF and control group. Compared with the control group, the level of CD4 + T cells, CD8 + T cells and Treg cells in G-CSF+ConA group significantly increased (PCSF receptor (G-CSFR) expression showed that G-CSFR expression on T cells in G-CSF+ConA group dramatically increased, as compared with control group (PCSF stimulation. ConA can enhance the level of T cells and induce G-CSFR expression on T cells.
Pan, B.; Wang, Bo; Lubineau, Gilles
2016-01-01
Subset-based local and finite-element-based (FE-based) global digital image correlation (DIC) approaches are the two primary image matching algorithms widely used for full-field displacement mapping. Very recently, the performances
Consideration regarding the scheduling of unannounced or randomized inspections
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Sanborn, J.
2001-01-01
Full text: Randomized inspection strategies, including unannounced, short notice, or randomly selected scheduled inspections can play an useful role in integrated safeguards by allowing a reduction in the number of inspections without sacrificing coverage of diversion scenarios. The Agency and member states have proposed such strategies as important elements of integrated safeguards proposals at reactors as well as bulk handling facilities. The Agency, however, has limited experience with such inspections, and a number of issues need to be addressed before effective implementation can occur; how these issues are resolved will determine how effective the inspections will be. This paper focuses on the question of how to determine the timing of such inspections. It is pointed out that there are a large number of variants of the idea of 'randomized inspection,' and that each option will have advantages and disadvantages from the points of view of the operator, the logistics of inspection scheduling, and the capabilities for detection. The method chosen should depend on the type of scenarios that the Agency wishes to detect. The mathematically purest form of randomized schedule will have broad theoretical applicability, but may prove more difficult to put into practice, and may be unnecessary, or even sub-optimal, depending on the inspection objective. On the other hand, each restriction on inspection that provides the operator with information on when the inspection will occur must be taken into account when assessing detection probability. The paper reviews a number of scheduling approaches in the context of different objectives and considers effectiveness, operational impact, and practicality. (author)
Laksono, Brigitta M; Grosserichter-Wagener, Christina; de Vries, Rory D; Langeveld, Simone A G; Brem, Maarten D; van Dongen, Jacques J M; Katsikis, Peter D; Koopmans, Marion P G; van Zelm, Menno C; de Swart, Rik L
2018-04-15
Measles is characterized by a transient immune suppression, leading to an increased risk of opportunistic infections. Measles virus (MV) infection of immune cells is mediated by the cellular receptor CD150, expressed by subsets of lymphocytes, dendritic cells, macrophages, and thymocytes. Previous studies showed that human and nonhuman primate memory T cells express higher levels of CD150 than naive cells and are more susceptible to MV infection. However, limited information is available about the CD150 expression and relative susceptibility to MV infection of B-cell subsets. In this study, we assessed the susceptibility and permissiveness of naive and memory T- and B-cell subsets from human peripheral blood or tonsils to in vitro MV infection. Our study demonstrates that naive and memory B cells express CD150, but at lower frequencies than memory T cells. Nevertheless, both naive and memory B cells proved to be highly permissive to MV infection. Furthermore, we assessed the susceptibility and permissiveness of various functionally distinct T and B cells, such as helper T (T H ) cell subsets and IgG- and IgA-positive memory B cells, in peripheral blood and tonsils. We demonstrated that T H 1T H 17 cells and plasma and germinal center B cells were the subsets most susceptible and permissive to MV infection. Our study suggests that both naive and memory B cells, along with several other antigen-experienced lymphocytes, are important target cells of MV infection. Depletion of these cells potentially contributes to the pathogenesis of measles immune suppression. IMPORTANCE Measles is associated with immune suppression and is often complicated by bacterial pneumonia, otitis media, or gastroenteritis. Measles virus infects antigen-presenting cells and T and B cells, and depletion of these cells may contribute to lymphopenia and immune suppression. Measles has been associated with follicular exhaustion in lymphoid tissues in humans and nonhuman primates, emphasizing the
A Study on Peripheral T Cell Subsets in Patients with Thyroid Tumors
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Kim, Dong Soo
1991-01-01
To elucidate alteration of peripheral T cell subsets in thyroid tumors, the author enumerated T cell subsets in peripheral blood by indirect immunofluorescent method, using monoclonal antibodies (CD3, CD4 and CD8) in 17 cases of thyroid cancer, 12 cases of thyroid adenoma, and 16 cases of adult healthy subjects as controls. Diagnoses were confirmed histopathologically in thyroid cancer and adenoma, and were established on the basis of commonly accepted clinical and biochemical criteria in Hashimoto's thyroiditis. The blood was drawn from veins of (he patients and control subjects in Pusan National University Hospital during the period of January to October 1990. The results obtained were summarized as follow: 1) The percentage of CD3+ cells was significantly decreased in thyroid cancer as compared with healthy subjects. 2) The percentage of CD4+ cells was not different among thyroid cancer, thyroid adenoma, hashimoto's thyroiditis and control subjects each other. 3) The percentage of CD8+ cells was significantly decreased in thyroid cancer as compared with adult healthy subjects, and tended to be decreased as compared with thyroid adenoma and Hashimoto's thyroiditis. 4) The CD/CDH ratio was significantly increased in thyroid cancer as compared with control subjects, and tended to be increased as compared with thyroid adenoma and Hashimoto's thyroiditis. On the basis of (the results, it can be suggested that the immunodysfunction may be due to decreased suppressor/cytotoxic T cells in thyroid cancer.
Attractor controllability of Boolean networks by flipping a subset of their nodes
Rafimanzelat, Mohammad Reza; Bahrami, Fariba
2018-04-01
The controllability analysis of Boolean networks (BNs), as models of biomolecular regulatory networks, has drawn the attention of researchers in recent years. In this paper, we aim at governing the steady-state behavior of BNs using an intervention method which can easily be applied to most real system, which can be modeled as BNs, particularly to biomolecular regulatory networks. To this end, we introduce the concept of attractor controllability of a BN by flipping a subset of its nodes, as the possibility of making a BN converge from any of its attractors to any other one, by one-time flipping members of a subset of BN nodes. Our approach is based on the algebraic state-space representation of BNs using semi-tensor product of matrices. After introducing some new matrix tools, we use them to derive necessary and sufficient conditions for the attractor controllability of BNs. A forward search algorithm is then suggested to identify the minimal perturbation set for attractor controllability of a BN. Next, a lower bound is derived for the cardinality of this set. Two new indices are also proposed for quantifying the attractor controllability of a BN and the influence of each network variable on the attractor controllability of the network and the relationship between them is revealed. Finally, we confirm the efficiency of the proposed approach by applying it to the BN models of some real biomolecular networks.
A Study on Peripheral T Cell Subsets in Patients with Thyroid Tumors
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Kim, Dong Soo [Pusan National University College of Medicine, Pusan (Korea, Republic of)
1991-03-15
To elucidate alteration of peripheral T cell subsets in thyroid tumors, the author enumerated T cell subsets in peripheral blood by indirect immunofluorescent method, using monoclonal antibodies (CD3, CD4 and CD8) in 17 cases of thyroid cancer, 12 cases of thyroid adenoma, and 16 cases of adult healthy subjects as controls. Diagnoses were confirmed histopathologically in thyroid cancer and adenoma, and were established on the basis of commonly accepted clinical and biochemical criteria in Hashimoto's thyroiditis. The blood was drawn from veins of (he patients and control subjects in Pusan National University Hospital during the period of January to October 1990. The results obtained were summarized as follow: 1) The percentage of CD3+ cells was significantly decreased in thyroid cancer as compared with healthy subjects. 2) The percentage of CD4+ cells was not different among thyroid cancer, thyroid adenoma, hashimoto's thyroiditis and control subjects each other. 3) The percentage of CD8+ cells was significantly decreased in thyroid cancer as compared with adult healthy subjects, and tended to be decreased as compared with thyroid adenoma and Hashimoto's thyroiditis. 4) The CD/CDH ratio was significantly increased in thyroid cancer as compared with control subjects, and tended to be increased as compared with thyroid adenoma and Hashimoto's thyroiditis. On the basis of (the results, it can be suggested that the immunodysfunction may be due to decreased suppressor/cytotoxic T cells in thyroid cancer.
Dysregulated Expression of MITF in Subsets of Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Cholangiocarcinoma.
Nooron, Nattakarn; Ohba, Koji; Takeda, Kazuhisa; Shibahara, Shigeki; Chiabchalard, Anchalee
2017-08-01
Cholangiocarcinoma represents the second most common primary liver tumor after hepatocellular carcinoma. Mahanine, a carbazole alkaloid derived from Murraya koenigii (Linn.) Spreng, has been used as folk medicine in Thailand, where the liver fluke-associated cholangiocarcinoma is common. The expression of microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) is maintained at immunohistochemically undetectable levels in hepatocytes and cholangiocytes. To explore the regulation of MITF expression in the liver, we immunohistochemically analyzed the MITF expression using hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma specimens of the human liver cancer tissue array. MITF immunoreactivity was detected in subsets of hepatocellular carcinoma (6 out of 38 specimens; 16%) and cholangiocarcinoma (2/7 specimens; 29%). Moreover, immunoreactivity for glioma-associated oncogene 1 (GLI1), a transcription factor of the Hedgehog signaling pathway, was detected in 55% of hepatocellular carcinoma (21/38 specimens) and 86% of cholangiocarcinoma (6/7 specimens). Importantly, MITF was detectable only in the GLI1-positive hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma, and MITF immunoreactivity is associated with poor prognosis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. Subsequently, the effect of mahanine was analyzed in HepG2 human hepatocellular carcinoma and HuCCT1 and KKU-100 human cholangiocarcinoma cells. Mahanine (25 µM) showed the potent cytotoxicity in these hepatic cancer cell lines, which was associated with increased expression levels of MITF, as judged by Western blot analysis. MITF is over-expressed in subsets of hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma, and detectable MITF immunoreactivity is associated with poor prognosis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. MITF expression levels may be determined in hepatic cancer cells by the balance between the Hedgehog signaling and the cellular stress.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Zou Huawei; Su Liaoyuan; Tian Hailin
1998-01-01
Purpose: In order to understand the mechanism of the stimulation effects of low dose radiation (LDR), the author observed the immune changes of T-lymphocyte subsets. Meteria and methods: Whole body of BALB/C bring-tumor mice were exposed to the doses of 5, 10, 20 and 50 cGy γ-rays. The changes of T-lymphocyte subsets in peripheral blood, spleen and tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) were studied with flow cytometry (FCM). Results: the ratio of L 3 T 4 + /Lyt 2 + remarkable increased in the peripheral blood and spleen (p 3 T 4 + /Lyt 2 + further decreased in the TIL group of mice exposed 10 cGy (p 2 + molecules, were concentrated in the tumor tissues and they carried out the killing function to the tumor cells
A unique dermal dendritic cell subset that skews the immune response toward Th2.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ryuichi Murakami
Full Text Available Dendritic cell (DC subsets in the skin and draining lymph nodes (LNs are likely to elicit distinct immune response types. In skin and skin-draining LNs, a dermal DC subset expressing macrophage galactose-type C-type lectin 2 (MGL2/CD301b was found distinct from migratory Langerhans cells (LCs or CD103(+ dermal DCs (dDCs. Lower expression levels of Th1-promoting and/or cross-presentation-related molecules were suggested by the transcriptome analysis and verified by the quantitative real-time PCR analysis in MGL2(+ dDCs than in CD103(+ dDCs. Transfer of MGL2(+ dDCs but not CD103(+ dDCs from FITC-sensitized mice induced a Th2-type immune response in vivo in a model of contact hypersensitivity. Targeting MGL2(+ dDCs with a rat monoclonal antibody against MGL2 efficiently induced a humoral immune response with Th2-type properties, as determined by the antibody subclass. We propose that the properties of MGL2(+ dDCs, are complementary to those of CD103(+ dDCs and skew the immune response toward a Th2-type response.
Yang, Junhua; Li, Yong; Cheng, Wei; Liu, Yang; Liu, Chenxi
2018-01-22
Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) localization using fingerprint has become a prevailing approach for indoor localization. However, the fingerprint-collecting work is repetitive and time-consuming. After the original fingerprint radio map is built, it is laborious to upgrade the radio map. In this paper, we describe a Fingerprint Renovation System (FRS) based on crowdsourcing, which avoids the use of manual labour to obtain the up-to-date fingerprint status. Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) and Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) in FRS are combined to calculate the current state based on the original fingerprinting radio map. In this system, a method of subset acquisition also makes an immediate impression to reduce the huge computation caused by too many reference points (RPs). Meanwhile, adjusted cosine similarity (ACS) is employed in the online phase to solve the issue of outliers produced by cosine similarity. Both experiments and analytical simulation in a real Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) environment indicate the usefulness of our system to significant performance improvements. The results show that FRS improves the accuracy by 19.6% in the surveyed area compared to the radio map un-renovated. Moreover, the proposed subset algorithm can bring less computation.
Yang, Junhua; Li, Yong; Cheng, Wei; Liu, Yang; Liu, Chenxi
2018-01-01
Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) localization using fingerprint has become a prevailing approach for indoor localization. However, the fingerprint-collecting work is repetitive and time-consuming. After the original fingerprint radio map is built, it is laborious to upgrade the radio map. In this paper, we describe a Fingerprint Renovation System (FRS) based on crowdsourcing, which avoids the use of manual labour to obtain the up-to-date fingerprint status. Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) and Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) in FRS are combined to calculate the current state based on the original fingerprinting radio map. In this system, a method of subset acquisition also makes an immediate impression to reduce the huge computation caused by too many reference points (RPs). Meanwhile, adjusted cosine similarity (ACS) is employed in the online phase to solve the issue of outliers produced by cosine similarity. Both experiments and analytical simulation in a real Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) environment indicate the usefulness of our system to significant performance improvements. The results show that FRS improves the accuracy by 19.6% in the surveyed area compared to the radio map un-renovated. Moreover, the proposed subset algorithm can bring less computation. PMID:29361805
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Tian Gao
2015-02-01
Full Text Available The knowledge about spatial distribution of plantation forests is critical for forest management, monitoring programs and functional assessment. This study demonstrates the potential of multi-seasonal (spring, summer, autumn and winter Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager imageries with random forests (RF modeling to map larch plantations (LP in a typical plantation forest landscape in North China. The spectral bands and two types of textures were applied for creating 675 input variables of RF. An accuracy of 92.7% for LP, with a Kappa coefficient of 0.834, was attained using the RF model. A RF-based importance assessment reveals that the spectral bands and bivariate textural features calculated by pseudo-cross variogram (PC strongly promoted forest class-separability, whereas the univariate textural features influenced weakly. A feature selection strategy eliminated 93% of variables, and then a subset of the 47 most essential variables was generated. In this subset, PC texture derived from summer and winter appeared the most frequently, suggesting that this variability in growing peak season and non-growing season can effectively enhance forest class-separability. A RF classifier applied to the subset led to 91.9% accuracy for LP, with a Kappa coefficient of 0.829. This study provides an insight into approaches for discriminating plantation forests with phenological behaviors.
T-lymphocyte subsets, thymic size and breastfeeding in infancy
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Jeppesen, Dorthe Lisbeth; Hasselbalch, Helle; Lisse, Ida M
2004-01-01
We followed the changes in concentration of T-lymphocyte subsets (CD4+ and CD8+ cells) in peripheral blood and thymus size during infancy. Previous studies have found increased thymus size in breastfed infants. The present study analyzed the association between breastfeeding and the number of CD4......+ and CD8+ cells. Two different populations of infants between birth and 1 year of age were examined. Study Group I: infants with a variable duration of breastfeeding. Study Group II: long-term breastfed infants. In both groups a correlation was found between CD8+ cells and the thymic index at 10 months...... to 10 months of age; and a positive correlation between the number of breastfeedings per day at 8 months of age, and an increase in CD4+ cells from 8 to 10 months of age (p Breastfeeding might have both a current and long...
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Yamabe, Hiroshi; Abe, Hiroaki; Yokoyama, Mitsuhiro; Shiotani, Hideyuki; Kajiya, Sadashi; Mori, Takao; Hashimoto, Yasunori
1998-01-01
This study was undertaken to assess the diagnostic value of resting 123 I-BMIPP scintigraphy in patients with effort angina pectoris. One hundred and four patients underwent scintigraphic and angiographic examinations. The subsets of the patients were stable effort angina pectoris (stable type) in 27 cases, new onset of effort angina pectoris (new onset type) in 21 cases, and worsening effort angina pectoris (worsening type) in 35 cases. The remaining 21 cases were subjects without evidences of coronary artery disease (non-CAD). 123 I-BMIPP was injected under resting and pain free condition, then data for single photon emission tomography (SPECT) were acquired. The positive regional 123 I-BMIPP defects in three coronary territories were visually judged on the tomographic images. The overall sensitivity to diagnose the patients was 62.6% (52/83) and the overall specificity to exclude non-CAD subjects was 95.2% (20/21). The detection rate in each subset of the disease was 48.1% (13/27) in stable type, 47.6% (10/21) in new onset type and 77.1% (27/35) in worsening type (p 123 I-BMIPP scintigraphy was therefore valuable in diagnosing patients with effort angina pectoris and involved coronary arteries especially in the subset of patients with worsening type. (author)
Evaluating the Stability of Feature Selectors that Optimize Feature Subset Cardinality
Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database
Somol, Petr; Novovičová, Jana
2008-01-01
Roč. 2008, č. 5342 (2008), s. 956-966 ISSN 0302-9743. [Joint IAPR International Workshops SSPR 2008 and SPR 2008. Orlando , 04.12.2008-06.12.2008] R&D Projects: GA AV ČR 1ET400750407; GA MŠk 1M0572; GA ČR GA102/07/1594 Grant - others:GA MŠk(CZ) 2C06019 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10750506 Keywords : Feature selection * stability * relative weighted consistency measure * sequential search * floating search Subject RIV: IN - Informatics, Computer Science http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2008/RO/somol-evaluating the stability of feature selectors that optimize feature subset cardinality.pdf
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Solomon, C.; Chen, L.L.; Erle, D.J.; Balmes, J.R. [Univ. of California, Lung Biology Center and Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, San Francisco, CA (United States); Christian, D.L.; Welch, B.S.; Dunham, E. [Univ. of California, Lung Biology Center, San Francisco, CA (United States); Kleinman, M.T. [Univ. of California, Dept. of Community and Environmental Medicine, Irvine, CA (United States)
2000-07-01
Nitrogen dioxide (NO{sub 2}) is a free radical-producing oxidant gas. Inhalation of NO2 could cause airway inflammation, and decrease immune function. This experiment tested the hypothesis that exposure to NO{sub 2} would: (1) increase leukocytes in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL); and (2) change the distribution of lymphocyte subsets and activation in BAL and peripheral blood (PB). Using a counter-balanced, repeated-measures design, 15 healthy volunteers were exposed to filtered air (FA) or 2.0 parts per million NO{sub 2} for 4 h.day{sup -1} (4 x 30 min of exercise), for three consecutive days. Bronchoscopy was performed 18 h following each exposure set, and PB was drawn pre-exposure and pre-bronchoscopy. Flow cytometry was used to enumerate lymphocyte subsets and activation makers in BAL and PB. In the bronchial fraction, there was an increase in the percentage of neutrophils following NO2 exposure compared to FA (median (interquartile range): 10.6 (4.8. 17.2)% versus 5.3 (2.5-8.3)%; p=0.005). In the BAL, there was a decrease in the percentage of T-helper cells following NO{sub 2} exposure compared to FA (55.9 (40.8-62.7)% versus 61.6 (52.6-65.2)%; p=0.022). For PB, there were no between-condition differences in any leukocyte or lymphocyte subsets, or activation. In conclusion exposure to nitrogen dioxide results in bronchial inflammation and a minimal change in bronchoalveolar lavage T-helper cells, and no changes in peripheral blood cells. (au)
Inter-donor variation in cell subset specific immune signaling responses in healthy individuals.
Longo, Diane M; Louie, Brent; Wang, Ena; Pos, Zoltan; Marincola, Francesco M; Hawtin, Rachael E; Cesano, Alessandra
2012-01-01
Single cell network profiling (SCNP) is a multi-parameter flow cytometry based approach that allows for the simultaneous interrogation of intracellular signaling pathways in multiple cell subpopulations within heterogeneous tissues, without the need for individual cell subset isolation. Thus, the technology is extremely well-suited for characterizing the multitude of interconnected signaling pathways and immune cell subpopulations that regulate the function of the immune system. Recently, SCNP was applied to generate a functional map of the healthy human immune cell signaling network by profiling immune signaling pathways downstream of 12 immunomodulators in 7 distinct immune cell subsets within peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 60 healthy donors. In the study reported here, the degree of inter-donor variation in the magnitude of the immune signaling responses was analyzed. The highest inter-donor differences in immune signaling pathway activity occurred following perturbation of the immune signaling network, rather than in basal signaling. When examining the full panel of immune signaling responses, as one may expect, the overall degree of inter-donor variation was positively correlated (r = 0.727) with the magnitude of node response (i.e. a larger median signaling response was associated with greater inter-donor variation). However, when examining the degree of heterogeneity across cell subpopulations for individual signaling nodes, cell subset specificity in the degree of inter-donor variation was observed for several nodes. For such nodes, relatively weak correlations between inter-donor variation and the magnitude of the response were observed. Further, within the phenotypically distinct subpopulations, a fraction of the immune signaling responses had bimodal response profiles in which (a) only a portion of the cells had elevated phospho-protein levels following modulation and (b) the proportion of responsive cells varied by donor. These data
The Bootstrap, the Jackknife, and the Randomization Test: A Sampling Taxonomy.
Rodgers, J L
1999-10-01
A simple sampling taxonomy is defined that shows the differences between and relationships among the bootstrap, the jackknife, and the randomization test. Each method has as its goal the creation of an empirical sampling distribution that can be used to test statistical hypotheses, estimate standard errors, and/or create confidence intervals. Distinctions between the methods can be made based on the sampling approach (with replacement versus without replacement) and the sample size (replacing the whole original sample versus replacing a subset of the original sample). The taxonomy is useful for teaching the goals and purposes of resampling schemes. An extension of the taxonomy implies other possible resampling approaches that have not previously been considered. Univariate and multivariate examples are presented.
Movahedi, Kiavash; Laoui, Damya; Gysemans, Conny; Baeten, Martijn; Stangé, Geert; van den Bossche, Jan; Mack, Matthias; Pipeleers, Daniel; In't Veld, Peter; de Baetselier, Patrick; van Ginderachter, Jo A.
2010-01-01
Tumor-associated macrophages (TAM) form a major component of the tumor stroma. However, important concepts such as TAM heterogeneity and the nature of the monocytic TAM precursors remain speculative. Here, we show for the first time that mouse mammary tumors contained functionally distinct subsets
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Saroj K Basak
Full Text Available Cellular heterogeneity is an integral part of cancer development and progression. Progression can be associated with emergence of cells that exhibit high phenotypic plasticity (including "de-differentiation" to primitive developmental states, and aggressive behavioral properties (including high tumorigenic potentials. We observed that many biomarkers that are used to identify Cancer Stem Cells (CSC can label cell subsets in an advanced clinical stage of lung cancer (malignant pleural effusions, or MPE. Thus, CSC-biomarkers may be useful for live sorting functionally distinct cell subsets from individual tumors, which may enable investigators to hone in on the molecular basis for functional heterogeneity. We demonstrate that the CD44(hi (CD44-high cancer cell subsets display higher clonal, colony forming potential than CD44(lo cells (n=3 and are also tumorigenic (n=2/2 when transplanted in mouse xenograft model. The CD44(hi subsets express different levels of embryonal (de-differentiation markers or chromatin regulators. In archived lung cancer tissues, ALDH markers co-localize more with CD44 in squamous cell carcinoma (n=5/7 than Adeno Carcinoma (n=1/12. MPE cancer cells and a lung cancer cell line (NCI-H-2122 exhibit chromosomal abnormalities and 1p36 deletion (n=3/3. Since miR-34a maps to the 1p36 deletion site, low miR-34a expression levels were detected in these cells. The colony forming efficiency of CD44(hi cells, characteristic property of CSC, can be inhibited by mir-34a replacement in these samples. In addition the highly tumorigenic CD44(hi cells are enriched for cells in the G2 phase of cell cycle.
Randomized branch sampling to estimatefruit production in Pecan trees cv. ‘Barton’
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Filemom Manoel Mokochinski
Full Text Available ABSTRACT: Sampling techniques to quantify the production of fruits are still very scarce and create a gap in crop development research. This study was conducted in a rural property in the county of Cachoeira do Sul - RS to estimate the efficiency of randomized branch sampling (RBS in quantifying the production of pecan fruit at three different ages (5,7 and 10 years. Two selection techniques were tested: the probability proportional to the diameter (PPD and the uniform probability (UP techniques, which were performed on nine trees, three from each age and randomly chosen. The RBS underestimated fruit production for all ages, and its main drawback was the high sampling error (125.17% - PPD and 111.04% - UP. The UP was regarded as more efficient than the PPD, though both techniques estimated similar production and similar experimental errors. In conclusion, we reported that branch sampling was inaccurate for this case study, requiring new studies to produce estimates with smaller sampling error.
Random Walk on a Perturbation of the Infinitely-Fast Mixing Interchange Process
Salvi, Michele; Simenhaus, François
2018-03-01
We consider a random walk in dimension d≥1 in a dynamic random environment evolving as an interchange process with rate γ >0 . We prove that, if we choose γ large enough, almost surely the empirical velocity of the walker X_t/t eventually lies in an arbitrary small ball around the annealed drift. This statement is thus a perturbation of the case γ =+∞ where the environment is refreshed between each step of the walker. We extend three-way part of the results of Huveneers and Simenhaus (Electron J Probab 20(105):42, 2015), where the environment was given by the 1-dimensional exclusion process: (i) We deal with any dimension d≥1 ; (ii) We treat the much more general interchange process, where each particle carries a transition vector chosen according to an arbitrary law μ ; (iii) We show that X_t/t is not only in the same direction of the annealed drift, but that it is also close to it.
Random Walk on a Perturbation of the Infinitely-Fast Mixing Interchange Process
Salvi, Michele; Simenhaus, François
2018-05-01
We consider a random walk in dimension d≥ 1 in a dynamic random environment evolving as an interchange process with rate γ >0. We prove that, if we choose γ large enough, almost surely the empirical velocity of the walker X_t/t eventually lies in an arbitrary small ball around the annealed drift. This statement is thus a perturbation of the case γ =+∞ where the environment is refreshed between each step of the walker. We extend three-way part of the results of Huveneers and Simenhaus (Electron J Probab 20(105):42, 2015), where the environment was given by the 1-dimensional exclusion process: (i) We deal with any dimension d≥1; (ii) We treat the much more general interchange process, where each particle carries a transition vector chosen according to an arbitrary law μ ; (iii) We show that X_t/t is not only in the same direction of the annealed drift, but that it is also close to it.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Lucimar G Milagres
Full Text Available Meningococcal disease is endemic in Brazil, with periodic outbreaks and case fatality rates reach as high as 18 to 20% of cases. Conjugate vaccines against meningococci are immunogenic in healthy children. However, we have previously shown a poor bactericidal antibody response to a Men C conjugate vaccine in Brazilian HIV-infected children and adolescents after a single vaccine administration. The goal of the present work was to investigate associations between bactericidal antibody response induced by MenC vaccine and the frequency and activation profile (expression of CD38, HLA-DR and CCR5 molecules of total CD4+ memory T cell sub-populations in HIV-1-infected children and adolescents. Responders to vaccination against MenC had a predominance (about 44% of CD4+ TINTERMEDIATE subset followed by TTRANSITIONAL memory subset (23 to 26%. Importantly, CD4+ TINT frequency was positively associated with bactericidal antibody response induced by vaccination. The positive correlation persisted despite the observation that the frequency TINT CD38+HLA-DR+ was higher in responders. In contrast, CD4+ TCENTRAL MEMORY (TCM subset negatively correlated with bactericidal antibodies. In conclusion, these data indicate that less differentiated CD+ T cells, like TCM may be constantly differentiating into intermediate and later differentiated CD4+ T cell subsets. These include CD4 TINT subset which showed a positive association with bactericidal antibodies.
Random sampling of elementary flux modes in large-scale metabolic networks.
Machado, Daniel; Soons, Zita; Patil, Kiran Raosaheb; Ferreira, Eugénio C; Rocha, Isabel
2012-09-15
The description of a metabolic network in terms of elementary (flux) modes (EMs) provides an important framework for metabolic pathway analysis. However, their application to large networks has been hampered by the combinatorial explosion in the number of modes. In this work, we develop a method for generating random samples of EMs without computing the whole set. Our algorithm is an adaptation of the canonical basis approach, where we add an additional filtering step which, at each iteration, selects a random subset of the new combinations of modes. In order to obtain an unbiased sample, all candidates are assigned the same probability of getting selected. This approach avoids the exponential growth of the number of modes during computation, thus generating a random sample of the complete set of EMs within reasonable time. We generated samples of different sizes for a metabolic network of Escherichia coli, and observed that they preserve several properties of the full EM set. It is also shown that EM sampling can be used for rational strain design. A well distributed sample, that is representative of the complete set of EMs, should be suitable to most EM-based methods for analysis and optimization of metabolic networks. Source code for a cross-platform implementation in Python is freely available at http://code.google.com/p/emsampler. dmachado@deb.uminho.pt Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Floristic Survey of Summer Aspect in Chosen China Clay Pits in Western Bohemia
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Kamila Botková
2016-01-01
Full Text Available Five different china clay pits in the western part of the Czech Republic were explored and plant species were determined. These chosen pits were: Hájek-western part, Chlumčany, Horní Bříza, Otovice and Podlesí II. China clay pits with active excavation represent a specific environment concerning both physical and chemical characteristics. This article is presenting a list of the higher plants which were found within active excavation or former excavation areas. Species with a protection status according to the Czech legislation are presented in more detail. 189 different species have been found in total, including 2 species from category C4 – potentially vulnerable taxa, 6 species from category C3 – endangered taxa and 1 species from the C1 – critically threatened taxa from the Red List of Vascular Plants of the Czech Republic. 28 different species occurred at each of the five sites. Predominant species favour sandy substratum and bare surface.
Avettand-Fenoël, Véronique; Nembot, Georges; Mélard, Adeline; Blanc, Catherine; Lascoux-Combe, Caroline; Slama, Laurence; Allegre, Thierry; Allavena, Clotilde; Yazdanpanah, Yazdan; Duvivier, Claudine; Katlama, Christine; Goujard, Cécile; Seksik, Bao Chau Phung; Leplatois, Anne; Molina, Jean-Michel; Meyer, Laurence; Autran, Brigitte; Rouzioux, Christine
2013-01-01
Optimizing therapeutic strategies for an HIV cure requires better understanding the characteristics of early HIV-1 spread among resting CD4+ cells within the first month of primary HIV-1 infection (PHI). We studied the immune distribution, diversity, and inducibility of total HIV-DNA among the following cell subsets: monocytes, peripheral blood activated and resting CD4 T cells, long-lived (naive [TN] and central-memory [TCM]) and short-lived (transitional-memory [TTM] and effector-memory cells [TEM]) resting CD4+T cells from 12 acutely-infected individuals recruited at a median 36 days from infection. Cells were sorted for total HIV-DNA quantification, phylogenetic analysis and inducibility, all studied in relation to activation status and cell signaling. One month post-infection, a single CCR5-restricted viral cluster was massively distributed in all resting CD4+ subsets from 88% subjects, while one subject showed a slight diversity. High levels of total HIV-DNA were measured among TN (median 3.4 log copies/million cells), although 10-fold less (p = 0.0005) than in equally infected TCM (4.5), TTM (4.7) and TEM (4.6) cells. CD3−CD4+ monocytes harbored a low viral burden (median 2.3 log copies/million cells), unlike equally infected resting and activated CD4+ T cells (4.5 log copies/million cells). The skewed repartition of resting CD4 subsets influenced their contribution to the pool of resting infected CD4+T cells, two thirds of which consisted of short-lived TTM and TEM subsets, whereas long-lived TN and TCM subsets contributed the balance. Each resting CD4 subset produced HIV in vitro after stimulation with anti-CD3/anti-CD28+IL-2 with kinetics and magnitude varying according to subset differentiation, while IL-7 preferentially induced virus production from long-lived resting TN cells. In conclusion, within a month of infection, a clonal HIV-1 cluster is massively distributed among resting CD4 T-cell subsets with a flexible inducibility, suggesting that
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Charline Bacchus
Full Text Available Optimizing therapeutic strategies for an HIV cure requires better understanding the characteristics of early HIV-1 spread among resting CD4+ cells within the first month of primary HIV-1 infection (PHI. We studied the immune distribution, diversity, and inducibility of total HIV-DNA among the following cell subsets: monocytes, peripheral blood activated and resting CD4 T cells, long-lived (naive [TN] and central-memory [TCM] and short-lived (transitional-memory [TTM] and effector-memory cells [TEM] resting CD4+T cells from 12 acutely-infected individuals recruited at a median 36 days from infection. Cells were sorted for total HIV-DNA quantification, phylogenetic analysis and inducibility, all studied in relation to activation status and cell signaling. One month post-infection, a single CCR5-restricted viral cluster was massively distributed in all resting CD4+ subsets from 88% subjects, while one subject showed a slight diversity. High levels of total HIV-DNA were measured among TN (median 3.4 log copies/million cells, although 10-fold less (p = 0.0005 than in equally infected TCM (4.5, TTM (4.7 and TEM (4.6 cells. CD3-CD4+ monocytes harbored a low viral burden (median 2.3 log copies/million cells, unlike equally infected resting and activated CD4+ T cells (4.5 log copies/million cells. The skewed repartition of resting CD4 subsets influenced their contribution to the pool of resting infected CD4+T cells, two thirds of which consisted of short-lived TTM and TEM subsets, whereas long-lived TN and TCM subsets contributed the balance. Each resting CD4 subset produced HIV in vitro after stimulation with anti-CD3/anti-CD28+IL-2 with kinetics and magnitude varying according to subset differentiation, while IL-7 preferentially induced virus production from long-lived resting TN cells. In conclusion, within a month of infection, a clonal HIV-1 cluster is massively distributed among resting CD4 T-cell subsets with a flexible inducibility
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Yang Jiezuan
2011-12-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background T cell receptor (TCR reflects the status and function of T cells. We previously developed a gene melting spectral pattern (GMSP assay, which rapidly detects clonal expansion of the T cell receptor β variable gene (TCRBV in patients with HBV by using quantitative real-time reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR with DNA melting curve analysis. However, the molecular profiles of TCRBV in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs and CD8+, CD8- cell subsets from chronic severe hepatitis B (CSHB patients have not been well described. Methods Human PBMCs were separated and sorted into CD8+ and CD8- cell subsets using density gradient centrifugation and magnetic activated cell sorting (MACS. The molecular features of the TCRBV CDR3 motif were determined using GMSP analysis; the TCRBV families were cloned and sequenced when the GMSP profile showed a single-peak, indicative of a monoclonal population. Results The number of skewed TCRBV in the CD8+ cell subset was significantly higher than that of the CD8- cell subset as assessed by GMSP analysis. The TCRBV11 and BV7 were expressed more frequently than other members of TCRBV family in PBMCs and CD8+, CD8- subsets. Also the relatively conserved amino acid motifs were detected in the TCRBV22, BV18 and BV11 CDR3 in PBMCs among patients with CSHB. Conclusions The molecular features of the TCRBV CDR3 were markedly different among PBMCs and CD8+, CD8- cell subsets derived from CSHB patients. Analysis of the TCRBV expression in the CD8+ subset was more accurate in assessing the status and function of circulating T cells. The expression of TCRBV11, BV7 and the relatively conserved CDR3 amino acid motifs could also help to predict and treat patients with CSHB.
Deconstruction of O-glycosylation-GalNAc-T isoforms direct distinct subsets of the O-glycoproteome
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Schjoldager, Katrine T; Joshi, Hiren J; Kong, Yun
2015-01-01
GalNAc-type O-glycosylation is found on most proteins trafficking through the secretory pathway in metazoan cells. The O-glycoproteome is regulated by up to 20 polypeptide GalNAc-Ts and the contributions and biological functions of individual GalNAc-Ts are poorly understood. Here, we used a zinc......-finger nuclease (ZFN)-directed knockout strategy to probe the contributions of the major GalNAc-Ts (GalNAc-T1 and GalNAc-T2) in liver cells and explore how the GalNAc-T repertoire quantitatively affects the O-glycoproteome. We demonstrate that the majority of the O-glycoproteome is covered by redundancy, whereas...... distinct subsets of substrates are modified by non-redundant functions of GalNAc-T1 and GalNAc-T2. The non-redundant O-glycoproteome subsets and specific transcriptional responses for each isoform are related to different cellular processes; for the GalNAc-T2 isoform, these support a role in lipid...
Non-random co-occurrence of native and exotic plant species in Mediterranean grasslands
de Miguel, José M.; Martín-Forés, Irene; Acosta-Gallo, Belén; del Pozo, Alejandro; Ovalle, Carlos; Sánchez-Jardón, Laura; Castro, Isabel; Casado, Miguel A.
2016-11-01
Invasion by exotic species in Mediterranean grasslands has determined assembly patterns of native and introduced species, knowledge of which provides information on the ecological processes underlying these novel communities. We considered grasslands from Spain and Chile. For each country we considered the whole grassland community and we split species into two subsets: in Chile, species were classified as natives or colonizers (i.e. exotics); in Spain, species were classified as exclusives (present in Spain but not in Chile) or colonizers (Spanish natives and exotics into Chile). We used null models and co-occurrence indices calculated in each country for each one of 15 sites distributed along a precipitation gradient and subjected to similar silvopastoral exploitation. We compared values of species co-occurrence between countries and between species subsets (natives/colonizers in Chile; exclusives/colonizers in Spain) within each country and we characterised them according to climatic variables. We hypothesized that: a) the different coexistence time of the species in both regions should give rise to communities presenting a spatial pattern further from random in Spain than in Chile, b) the co-occurrence patterns in the grasslands are affected by mesoclimatic factors in both regions. The patterns of co-occurrence are similar in Spain and Chile, mostly showing a spatial pattern more segregated than expected by random. The colonizer species are more segregated in Spain than in Chile, possibly determined by the longer residence time of the species in the source area than in the invaded one. The segregation of species in Chile is related to water availability, being species less segregated in habitat with greater water deficit; in Spain no relationship with climatic variables was found. After an invasion process, our results suggest that the possible process of alteration of the original Chilean communities has not prevented the assembly between the native and
The amount of 137Cs in chosen parts of food chains from localities in the East of Slovakia
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Cipakova, A.
2005-01-01
The aim of this study was to compare the amount of radiocaesium in chosen parts of food chains from localities in the Eastern Slovakia. Prevailing part of radiocaesium is in the upper layer of soils and specific activity of 137 Cs in the first layer for locality Stara Voda in 2000 achieved 152.4 Bq/kg 1 . On the base of results from modified Tessier sequential extraction method we determined that more than 50 % of this radionuclide is in the soil in not extractable fraction. From studied species of mushrooms the highest value was determined in sample of Rozites caperata the and specific activity achieved 1822.0 Bq/kg 1 d. w. The aim of our study was to determine the amount of caesium in chosen parts of food chains from localities in Eastern Slovakia for period 2000-2004. On the base of obtained results we can conclude that radiocaesium migrates vertically in soils very slowly and prevailing part of caesium is in the upper layer. Prevailing part of radiocaesium is in the not extractable fraction. Extremely low concentration of caesium in soil solution is the factor limiting caesium uptake by the root systems, too. Mushrooms are characterised by high ability to accumulate radiocaesium. (authors)
[Differential diagnosis and atypical subsets of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis].
Pradat, P-F; Bruneteau, G
2006-06-01
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive degeneration of upper and lower motor neurons. In the absence of any validated biological marker, the diagnosis of ALS depends upon recognition of characteristic symptoms and signs together with supportive electrophysiological findings. The diagnosis of ALS is easy to recognize in its fully developed form but during the early stages both false positive and false negative diagnoses are common. In clinical practice, diagnostic difficulties mostly arise with patients who present either with only upper motor neuron, or with only lower motor neuron signs. It may be difficult to distinguish ALS with clinically predominant lower motor neuron involvement from alternative diagnoses including spinal atrophies of adult onset, Kennedy's disease, inclusion body myositis and motor neuropathies with conduction blocks. The diagnosis of ALS related syndromes (progressive muscular atrophy, primary lateral sclerosis and progressive bulbar palsy) requires the elimination of alternate diagnoses. This paper reviews the main characteristics of diseases mimicking ALS and the atypical subsets of ALS.
The effect of exercise-induced arousal on chosen tempi for familiar melodies.
Jakubowski, Kelly; Halpern, Andrea R; Grierson, Mick; Stewart, Lauren
2015-04-01
Many previous studies have shown that arousal affects time perception, suggesting a direct influence of arousal on the speed of the pacemaker of the internal clock. However, it is unknown whether arousal influences the mental representation of tempo (speed) for highly familiar and complex stimuli, such as well-known melodies, that have long-term representations in memory. Previous research suggests that mental representations of the tempo of familiar melodies are stable over time; the aim of the present study was to investigate whether these representations can be systematically altered via an increase in physiological arousal. Participants adjusted the tempo of 14 familiar melodies in real time until they found a tempo that matched their internal representation of the appropriate tempo for that piece. The task was carried out before and after a physiologically arousing (exercise) or nonarousing (anagrams) manipulation. Participants completed this task both while hearing the melodies aloud and while imagining them. Chosen tempi increased significantly following exercise-induced arousal, regardless of whether a melody was heard aloud or imagined. These findings suggest that a change in internal clock speed affects temporal judgments even for highly familiar and complex stimuli such as music.
Truss Structure Optimization with Subset Simulation and Augmented Lagrangian Multiplier Method
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Feng Du
2017-11-01
Full Text Available This paper presents a global optimization method for structural design optimization, which integrates subset simulation optimization (SSO and the dynamic augmented Lagrangian multiplier method (DALMM. The proposed method formulates the structural design optimization as a series of unconstrained optimization sub-problems using DALMM and makes use of SSO to find the global optimum. The combined strategy guarantees that the proposed method can automatically detect active constraints and provide global optimal solutions with finite penalty parameters. The accuracy and robustness of the proposed method are demonstrated by four classical truss sizing problems. The results are compared with those reported in the literature, and show a remarkable statistical performance based on 30 independent runs.
Influence of DC-CIK in advanced colorectal cancer patients on T lymphocyte subsets and cytokines
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Rong Wang
2016-07-01
Full Text Available Objective: To explore the effects of dendritic cells (DC-cytokine induced killer cells (CIK treatment on T lymphocyte subsets and cytokines in patients with advanced colorectal cancer. Methods: A total of 84 cases patients with advanced colorectal cancer were divided into two groups according to random number table method, each 42 cases, both two groups were given FOLFOX scheme chemotherapy, on the basis, the observation group were given supplementary DC-CIK treatment, compared the T lymphocy te subgroup: CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, CD4+/CD8+, Th1 cytokines, interleukin-2 (IL-2 and interferon gamma-γ (FN-γ, Th2 cytokines: interleukin 6 (IL-6, interleukin 4 (IL-4 of the two groups before and after treatment. Results: Compared with before treatment, the CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, CD4+/CD8+, Th1 cytokines IL-2 and IFN-γ in observation group were significantly higher than after treatment , the CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, CD4+/CD8+, Th1 cytokines IL-2 and IFN-γ in control group were significantly lower than after treatment, and the differences were all statistically significant; The CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, CD4+/CD8+, Th1 cytokines IL-2 and IFN-γ in observation group after treatment were significantly higher than those in control group after treatment with statistical difference; CD8+, Th2 cytokines IL-4, IL-6 in two groups had no statistical significance before and after treatment. Conclusion: Chemotherapy can cause the immune function restrained in patients with advanced colorectal cancer, and DC-CIK supplementary therapy can significantly improve the immune function, enhance the anti tumor immune responses.
Harvey, Colin E; Laster, Larry; Shofer, Frances S
2012-01-01
A total mouth periodontal score (TMPS) system in dogs has been described previously. Use of buccal and palatal/lingual surfaces of all teeth requires observation and recording of 120 gingivitis scores and 120 periodontitis scores. Although the result is a reliable, repeatable assessment of the extent of periodontal disease in the mouth, observing and recording 240 data points is time-consuming. Using data from a previously reported study of periodontal disease in dogs, correlation analysis was used to determine whether use of any of seven different subsets of teeth can generate TMPS subset gingivitis and periodontitis scores that are highly correlated with TMPS all-site, all-teeth scores. Overall, gingivitis scores were less highly correlated than periodontitis scores. The minimal tooth set with a significant intra-class correlation (> or = 0.9 of means of right and left sides) for both gingivitis scores and attachment loss measurements consisted of the buccal surface of the maxillary third incisor canine, third premolar fourth premolar; and first molar teeth; and, the mandibular canine, third premolar, fourth premolar and first molar teeth on one side (9 teeth, 15 root sites). Use of this subset of teeth, which reduces the number of data points per dog from 240 to 30 for gingivitis and periodontitis at each scoring episode, is recommended when calculating the gingivitis and periodontitis scores using the TMPS system.
Moresco, Monica; Lecciso, Mariangela; Ocadlikova, Darina; Filardi, Marco; Melzi, Silvia; Kornum, Birgitte Rahbek; Antelmi, Elena; Pizza, Fabio; Mignot, Emmanuel; Curti, Antonio; Plazzi, Giuseppe
2018-04-01
Type 1 narcolepsy (NT1) is a central hypersomnia linked to the destruction of hypocretin-producing neurons. A great body of genetic and epidemiological data points to likely autoimmune disease aetiology. Recent reports have characterized peripheral blood T-cell subsets in NT1, whereas data regarding the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) immune cell composition are lacking. The current study aimed to characterize the T-cell and natural killer (NK) cell subsets in NT1 patients with long disease course. Immune cell subsets from CSF and peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) samples were analysed by flow cytometry in two age-balanced and sex-balanced groups of 14 NT1 patients versus 14 healthy controls. The frequency of CSF cell groups was compared with PBMCs. Non-parametric tests were used for statistical analyses. The NT1 patients did not show significant differences of CSF immune cell subsets compared to controls, despite a trend towards higher CD4 + terminally differentiated effector memory T cells. T cells preferentially displayed a memory phenotype in the CSF compared to PBMCs. Furthermore, a reduced frequency of CD4 + terminally differentiated effector memory T cells and an increased frequency of NK CD56 bright cells was observed in PBMCs from patients compared to controls. Finally, the ratio between CSF and peripheral CD4 + terminally differentiated effector memory T cells was two-fold increased in NT1 patients versus controls. Significant differences in PBMCs and in CSF/PBMC ratios of immune cell profile were found in NT1 patients compared to healthy controls. These differences might have arisen from the different HLA status, or be primary or secondary to hypocretin deficiency. Further functional studies in patients close to disease onset are required to understand NT1 pathophysiology. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Collocation methods for uncertainty quanti cation in PDE models with random data
Nobile, Fabio
2014-01-06
In this talk we consider Partial Differential Equations (PDEs) whose input data are modeled as random fields to account for their intrinsic variability or our lack of knowledge. After parametrizing the input random fields by finitely many independent random variables, we exploit the high regularity of the solution of the PDE as a function of the input random variables and consider sparse polynomial approximations in probability (Polynomial Chaos expansion) by collocation methods. We first address interpolatory approximations where the PDE is solved on a sparse grid of Gauss points in the probability space and the solutions thus obtained interpolated by multivariate polynomials. We present recent results on optimized sparse grids in which the selection of points is based on a knapsack approach and relies on sharp estimates of the decay of the coefficients of the polynomial chaos expansion of the solution. Secondly, we consider regression approaches where the PDE is evaluated on randomly chosen points in the probability space and a polynomial approximation constructed by the least square method. We present recent theoretical results on the stability and optimality of the approximation under suitable conditions between the number of sampling points and the dimension of the polynomial space. In particular, we show that for uniform random variables, the number of sampling point has to scale quadratically with the dimension of the polynomial space to maintain the stability and optimality of the approximation. Numerical results show that such condition is sharp in the monovariate case but seems to be over-constraining in higher dimensions. The regression technique seems therefore to be attractive in higher dimensions.
Radioiodine-induced changes in lymphocyte subsets in patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Tofani, A.; Sciuto, R.; Cioffi, R.P.; Pasqualoni, R.; Rea, S.; Festa, A.; Maini, C.L. [Department of Nuclear Medicine, Regina Elena Cancer Institute, Rome (Italy); Gandolfo, G.M.; Arista, M.C. [Department of Clinical Pathology, Regina Elena Cancer Institute, Rome (Italy)
1999-08-01
This study evaluated changes in lymphocyte subsets in patients with thyroid carcinoma who received iodine-131 for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. Twenty thyroid cancer patients were entered in the study after total thyroidectomy: ten patients (group A) underwent whole-body scintigraphy with 185 MBq of {sup 131}I and the other ten (group B) received 3700 MBq of {sup 131}I therapy. All patients were in a hypothyroid state at the time of administration of {sup 131}I and started l-thyroxine 150 {mu}g/day 3 days after {sup 131}I administration. Free and bound triiodothyronine and thyroxine, thyroid-stimulating hormone, thyroglobulin, thyroglobulin antibodies, thyroid peroxidase/microsomal antibodies, white blood cell, lymphocyte counts and lymphocyte subsets were serially determined at baseline and at days 2, 7, 15, 30 and 60 after {sup 131}I administration. Twenty healthy age- and sex-matched individuals were used as a reference population for lymphocyte subset values. In group A only a reduction in NK cells at days 7 (P=0.043) and 15 (P=0.037) was observed. In group B, patients showed a delayed reduction in the total lymphocyte count at days 15, 30 and 60 (P=0.008, 0.004 and 0.018, respectively), and a decrease in B cells throughout the study (at days 7, 15, 30 and 60: P=0.006, 0.0017, 0.0017 and 0.0017 respectively). A transient decrease in NK cells was observed at days 15 (P=0.025) and 30 (P=0.008). Among T cells, the helper phenotype (CD4+) was mainly affected, resulting in a reduction in the CD4+/CD8+ ratio at day 60 (P=0.046). Comparing the two groups, the numbers of B lymphocytes at day 30 (P=0.023) and NK cells at days 2 (P=0.037) and 30 (P=0.023) were significantly lower in group B. Neither group showed any clinical sign of immunosuppression during the follow-up period. In patients with thyroid cancer the sensitivity of lymphocytes to the effects of {sup 131}I administered for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes depends upon lymphocyte phenotype and {sup
2010-07-01
... 40 Protection of Environment 6 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false How do I establish a valid parameter... § 60.4410 How do I establish a valid parameter range if I have chosen to continuously monitor... continuously monitored and recorded during each run of the initial performance test, to establish acceptable...
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Zhou Guozhong
2005-01-01
Objective: To study the short-term effect of splenectomy on immuno-function as expressed by changes of peripheral lymphocyte subsets distribution in patients with acute injury. Methods: Peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets distribution types were studied with flow-cytometry in 74 patients before and 1 week after splenectomy for acute injury. Results: The percentage of CD 3 , CD 4 T cells were significantly higher (P 16-56 (NK), CD 19 B cells were significantly lower (P 8 T cell and CD 4 /CD 8 ratio were not significantly (P>0.05). Conclusion: There were significant changes of immunofunction right after splenectomy for acute injury, with enhancement of cellular immunofunction and depression of humoral immunofunction. (authors)
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Zizhen Yao
2013-04-01
The basic helix–loop–helix factor Myod initiates skeletal muscle differentiation by directly and sequentially activating sets of muscle differentiation genes, including those encoding muscle contractile proteins. We hypothesize that Pbx homeodomain proteins direct Myod to a subset of its transcriptional targets, in particular fast-twitch muscle differentiation genes, thereby regulating the competence of muscle precursor cells to differentiate. We have previously shown that Pbx proteins bind with Myod on the promoter of the zebrafish fast muscle gene mylpfa and that Pbx proteins are required for Myod to activate mylpfa expression and the fast-twitch muscle-specific differentiation program in zebrafish embryos. Here we have investigated the interactions of Pbx with another muscle fiber-type regulator, Prdm1a, a SET-domain DNA-binding factor that directly represses mylpfa expression and fast muscle differentiation. The prdm1a mutant phenotype, early and increased fast muscle differentiation, is the opposite of the Pbx-null phenotype, delayed and reduced fast muscle differentiation. To determine whether Pbx and Prdm1a have opposing activities on a common set of genes, we used RNA-seq analysis to globally assess gene expression in zebrafish embryos with single- and double-losses-of-function for Pbx and Prdm1a. We find that the levels of expression of certain fast muscle genes are increased or approximately wild type in pbx2/4-MO;prdm1a−/− embryos, suggesting that Pbx activity normally counters the repressive action of Prdm1a for a subset of the fast muscle program. However, other fast muscle genes require Pbx but are not regulated by Prdm1a. Thus, our findings reveal that subsets of the fast muscle program are differentially regulated by Pbx and Prdm1a. Our findings provide an example of how Pbx homeodomain proteins act in a balance with other transcription factors to regulate subsets of a cellular differentiation program.
Linearization effect in multifractal analysis: Insights from the Random Energy Model
Angeletti, Florian; Mézard, Marc; Bertin, Eric; Abry, Patrice
2011-08-01
The analysis of the linearization effect in multifractal analysis, and hence of the estimation of moments for multifractal processes, is revisited borrowing concepts from the statistical physics of disordered systems, notably from the analysis of the so-called Random Energy Model. Considering a standard multifractal process (compound Poisson motion), chosen as a simple representative example, we show the following: (i) the existence of a critical order q∗ beyond which moments, though finite, cannot be estimated through empirical averages, irrespective of the sample size of the observation; (ii) multifractal exponents necessarily behave linearly in q, for q>q∗. Tailoring the analysis conducted for the Random Energy Model to that of Compound Poisson motion, we provide explicative and quantitative predictions for the values of q∗ and for the slope controlling the linear behavior of the multifractal exponents. These quantities are shown to be related only to the definition of the multifractal process and not to depend on the sample size of the observation. Monte Carlo simulations, conducted over a large number of large sample size realizations of compound Poisson motion, comfort and extend these analyses.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Pei Xiang
2016-08-01
Full Text Available Objective: To observe the effect of Yunpi Huoxue soup combined with chemotherapy on T lymphocyte subsets and nutritional status in patients with advanced gastric cancer. Methods: A total of 94 cases patients with advanced gastric cancer were randomly divided into the treatment group (49 cases and the control group (45 cases according to the results of the draw. The control group was given chemotherapy, the treatment group was given Yunpi Huoxue soup on the basis of the control group. Treated for 6 weeks, observed the changes of T cell subsets (CD3, CD4, CD8 and CD4/CD8 and nutrition indexes: total protein (TP, albumin (ALB, prealbumin (PA and transferrin (TRF in the two groups. Results: After treatment, CD3, CD4, CD8 and CD4/CD8 in the treatment group were (57.38±4.03, (31.63±4.26, (30.82±3.52 and (1.16±0.20 respectively, there were no significant differences compared with before treatment; After treatment, the levels of CD3, CD4, CD8 and CD4/CD8 in the control group were significantly lower than those before treatment, and the differences were statistically significant; After treatment, the levels of CD3, CD4, CD8 and CD4/CD8 in the treatment group were significant higher than those in the control group after treatment, and the differences were statistically significant. After treatment, TP, ALB, PA and TRF in the treatment group were(54.22±5.93 g/L, (32.47±4.97 g/L, (2.52±0.43 g/L and (1.66±0.40 g/L respectively, there were no significant differences compared with before treatment; After treatment, the levels of TP, ALB, PA and TRF in the control group were significantly lower than those before treatment; After treatment, the levels of TP, ALB, PA and TRF in the treatment group were significant higher than those in the control group after treatment, and the differences were statistically significant. Conclusion: When chemotherapy for patients with advanced gastric cancer, Yunpi Huoxue soup is helpful to maintain the immune function and
Sriram, Uma; Hill, Beth L; Cenna, Jonathan M; Gofman, Larisa; Fernandes, Nicole C; Haldar, Bijayesh; Potula, Raghava
2016-01-01
Methamphetamine (METH) is a widely used psychostimulant that severely impacts the host's innate and adaptive immune systems and has profound immunological implications. T cells play a critical role in orchestrating immune responses. We have shown recently how chronic exposure to METH affects T cell activation using a murine model of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infection. Using the TriCOM (trinary state combinations) feature of GemStone™ to study the polyfunctionality of T cells, we have analyzed how METH affected the cytokine production pattern over the course of chronic LCMV infection. Furthermore, we have studied in detail the effects of METH on splenic T cell functions, such as cytokine production and degranulation, and how they regulate each other. We used the Probability State Modeling (PSM) program to visualize the differentiation of effector/memory T cell subsets during LCMV infection and analyze the effects of METH on T cell subset progression. We recently demonstrated that METH increased PD-1 expression on T cells during viral infection. In this study, we further analyzed the impact of PD-1 expression on T cell functional markers as well as its expression in the effector/memory subsets. Overall, our study indicates that analyzing polyfunctionality of T cells can provide additional insight into T cell effector functions. Analysis of T cell heterogeneity is important to highlight changes in the evolution of memory/effector functions during chronic viral infections. Our study also highlights the impact of METH on PD-1 expression and its consequences on T cell responses.
Lee, Jee Youn; Son, Taeil; Cheong, Jae-Ho; Hyung, Woo Jin; Noh, Sung Hoon; Kim, Choong-Bai; Park, Chung-Gyu; Kim, Hyoung-Il
2015-12-01
The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the association between adenosine triphosphate-based chemotherapy response assays (ATP-CRAs) and subsets of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in gastric cancer. In total, 15 gastric cancer tissue samples were obtained from gastrectomies performed between February 2007 and January 2011. Chemotherapy response assays were performed on tumor cells from these samples using 11 chemotherapeutic agents, including etoposide, doxorubicin, epirubicin, mitomycin, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), oxaliplatin, irinotecan, docetaxel, paclitaxel, methotrexate, and cisplatin. TILs in the tissue samples were evaluated using antibodies specific for CD3, CD4, CD8, Foxp3, and Granzyme B. The highest cancer cell death rates were induced by etoposide (44.8%), 5-FU (43.1%), and mitomycin (39.9%). Samples from 10 patients who were treated with 5-FU were divided into 5-FU-sensitive and -insensitive groups according to median cell death rate. No difference was observed in survival between the two groups (P=0.216). Only two patients were treated with a chemotherapeutic agent determined by an ATP-CRA and there was no significant difference in overall survival compared with that of patients treated with their physician's choice of chemotherapeutic agent (P=0.105). However, a high number of CD3 TILs was a favorable prognostic factor (P=0.008). Pearson's correlation analyses showed no association between cancer cell death rates in response to chemotherapeutic agents and subsets of TILs. Cancer cell death rates in response to specific chemotherapeutic agents were not significantly associated with the distribution of TIL subsets.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Liu Lianshou; Zhang Yang; Wu Yuanfang
1996-01-01
The anomalous scaling of factorial moments with continuously diminishing scale is studied using a random cascading model. It is shown that the model currently used have the property of anomalous scaling only for descrete values of elementary cell size. A revised model is proposed which can give good scaling property also for continuously varying scale. It turns out that the strip integral has good scaling property provided the integral regions are chosen correctly, and that this property is insensitive to the concrete way of self-similar subdivision of phase space in the models. (orig.)
A novel microglial subset plays a key role in myelinogenesis in developing brain
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Wlodarczyk, Agnieszka; Holtman, Inge; Krueger, Martin
2017-01-01
Microglia are resident macrophages of the central nervous system that contribute to homeostasis and neuroinflammation. Although known to play an important role in brain development, their exact function has not been fully described. Here we show that in contrast to healthy adult and inflammation......-activated cells, neonatal microglia show a unique myelinogenic and neurogenic phenotype. A CD11c+ microglial subset that predominates in primary myelinating areas of the developing brain expresses genes for neuronal and glial survival, migration and differentiation. These cells are the major source of insulin...
On the reduced dynamics of a subset of interacting bosonic particles
Gessner, Manuel; Buchleitner, Andreas
2018-03-01
The quantum dynamics of a subset of interacting bosons in a subspace of fixed particle number is described in terms of symmetrized many-particle states. A suitable partial trace operation over the von Neumann equation of an N-particle system produces a hierarchical expansion for the subdynamics of M ≤ N particles. Truncating this hierarchy with a pure product state ansatz yields the general, nonlinear coherent mean-field equation of motion. In the special case of a contact interaction potential, this reproduces the Gross-Pitaevskii equation. To account for incoherent effects on top of the mean-field evolution, we discuss possible extensions towards a second-order perturbation theory that accounts for interaction-induced decoherence in form of a nonlinear Lindblad-type master equation.
[Nested species subsets of amphibians and reptiles in Thousand Island Lake].
Wang, Xi; Wang, Yan-Ping; Ding, Ping
2012-10-01
Habitat fragmentation is a main cause for the loss of biological diversity. Combining line-transect methods to survey the amphibians and reptiles on 23 islands on Thousand Island Lake in Zhejiang province, along with survey data on nearby plant species and habitat variables collected by GIS, we used the"BINMATNEST (binary matrix nestedness temperature calculator)" software and the Spearman rank correlation to examine whether amphibians and reptiles followed nested subsets and their influencing factors. The results showed that amphibians and reptiles were significantly nested, and that the island area and habitat type were significantly associated with their nested ranks. Therefore, to effectively protect amphibians and reptiles in the Thousand Islands Lake area we should pay prior attention to islands with larger areas and more habitat types.
Fang, Fan; Du, Ying; Ma, Rui; Li, Xiang-Yang; Yu, Qian; Meng, Di; Tang, Ren-Xian; Zheng, Kui-Yang
2017-01-01
Previous studies showed that CD4+T cells responses might be involved in the process of biliary fibrosis. However, the underlying mechanism resulting in biliary fibrosis caused by Clonorchis sinensis remains not yet fully elucidated. The objectives of the present study were to investigate the different profiles of hepatic CD4+T cell subsets (Th1, Th2, Th17 and Treg cells) and their possible roles in the biliary fibrosis of different strains of mice (C57BL/6, BALB/c and FVB mice) induced by C. sinensis infection. C57BL/6, BALB/c and FVB mice were orally gavaged with 45 metacercariae. All mice were sacrificed on 28 days post infection in deep anesthesia conditions. The leukocytes in the liver were separated to examine CD4+T cell subsets by flow cytometry and the left lobe of liver was used to observe pathological changes, collagen depositions and the concentrations of hydroxyproline. The most serious cystic and fibrotic changes appeared in FVB infected mice indicated by gross observation, Masson’s trichrome staining and hydroxyproline content detection. In contrast to C57BL/6 infected mice, diffuse nodules and more intensive fibrosis were observed in the BALB/c infected mice. No differences of the hepatic Th1 subset and Th17 subset were found among the three strains, but the hepatic Th2 and Treg cells and their relative cytokines were dramatically increased in the BALB/c and FVB infected groups compared with the C57BL/6 infected group (Psinensis-infected mice. PMID:28151995
T cell antigen receptor expression by subsets of Ly-2-L3T4- (CD8-CD4-) thymocytes
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Wilson, A; Ewing, T; Owens, T
1988-01-01
. No positive cells were detected among Ly-2-L3T4- thymocytes from V beta 8-negative SJL mice. In contrast to the adult thymus, Ly-2-L3T4- cells from embryonic CBA thymus lacked F23.1-positive cells. Subsets of adult CBA Ly-2-L3T4- thymocytes were separated to determine which expressed V beta 8. The major...... B2A2-M1/69- and Pgp-1+ all included strongly F23.1-positive cells. A minor subset, negative for most markers except Pgp-1 and presumed on the basis of this phenotype and some reconstitution studies to include the earliest intrathymic precursors, contained 28% F23.1-positive cells. However, no F.23...
Friedrich, Mariola; Goluch-Koniuszy, Zuzanna
2009-01-01
The influence of diet content and its supplementation with chosen group of B vitamins on the intake of feeding stuff increase, changes of body mass, accumulation of fat tissue, lipids and lipoproteins concentration in the blood of female rats were under research. The animals, aged 5 months, were divided into three groups (8 persons each) and fed ad libitum with granulated Labofeed B type mix. Group I with the basic mix containing among other things whole grain, Group II with a modified mix, where whole grain was replaced by wheat flour and saccharose and Group III with modified mix supplemented in excess with chosen vitamins of B group. This experiment took 6 weeks during which the amount of consumed feed was currently evaluated, and the body mass was controlled weekly. After finishing the experiment in the obtained serum the concentration of triacylglycerols, complete cholesterol with enzyme method and the content of cholesterol fractions with electrophoretic separation method were determined. Analysis of fat content in muscles and livers was conducted and the amount of round the bodily organ fat was determined. It was ascertained that change of the content of the feed and its supplementation with the chosen B group vitamins did not influence in a substantial way its intake and the increase of body mass, however it had influenced substantially, in animals fed with the modified feed the accumulation of round the organ fat and in supplemented the intramuscular fat. Analysis of the results enabled the ascertainment that the diet supplementation with chosen ingredients of the B group vitamins corrects the negative effect of accumulation of the visceral fat tissue as a result of the change of its contents, caused substantial increase in the concentration of triacylglycerols, complete cholesterol and its fractions VLDL- and LDL- with simultaneous decrease of the concentration of cholesterol HDL- fractions.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Yao Yanhua; Chen Zhiwei; Deng Yingsu; Gu Guohao; Gao Chun; Yu Yunxia
2006-01-01
Objective: To investigate the relationship between the peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets, disease activity and renal impairment in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods: T lymphocyte subsets and NK cells from the peripheral blood of 78 patients who suffered SLE were measured, and then the relationship between disease activity, renal symptoms and the states of cellular immunology were analysed. Results: CD 8 + and CD 3 + cells were significantly decreased in the peripheral blood from those patients with active stage of SLE compared to remission phase, while the CD 4 + cells and CD 4 + /CD 8 + ratio did not. And NK cells, but not CD 3 + , CD 8 + cells or CD 4 + /CD 8 + and CD 8 + cells may correlate the the disease activity of SLE patients, but CD 4 + and ratio CD 4 + CD 8 + can not reflect disease activity. While the reduction of NK cells may have relationship with renal suffering. (authors)
Conceição, Inês C; Aguadé, Montserrat
2008-04-01
In insects, the odorant receptor (Or) multigene family is an intermediate-sized family with genes present in all chromosomes, indicating that duplication followed by interchromosomal transposition played an important role in the early stages of the family evolution. Here, we have explored the occurrence of interchromosomal transpositions in more recent stages through the comparative analysis of a subset of Or genes in Drosophila, where the gene content of chromosomal arms is highly conserved. The studied subset consisted of 11 Or genes located on the left arm of chromosome 3 (Muller's D element) in D. melanogaster. Our study focused on the number and chromosomal arm location of these members of the family across the 12 Drosophila species with complete genome sequences. In contrast to previous results from in situ hybridization comparative mapping that were mainly based on single-copy genes, our study, based on members of a multigene family of moderate size, revealed repeated interchromosomal transposition events and a complex history of some of the studied genes.
Random matrices and random difference equations
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Uppuluri, V.R.R.
1975-01-01
Mathematical models leading to products of random matrices and random difference equations are discussed. A one-compartment model with random behavior is introduced, and it is shown how the average concentration in the discrete time model converges to the exponential function. This is of relevance to understanding how radioactivity gets trapped in bone structure in blood--bone systems. The ideas are then generalized to two-compartment models and mammillary systems, where products of random matrices appear in a natural way. The appearance of products of random matrices in applications in demography and control theory is considered. Then random sequences motivated from the following problems are studied: constant pulsing and random decay models, random pulsing and constant decay models, and random pulsing and random decay models
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sulin Tao
2016-02-01
Full Text Available A sensitivity analysis of the responses of crops to the chosen production adaptation options under regional climate change was conducted in this study. Projections of winter wheat production for different sowing dates and cultivars were estimated for a major economic and agricultural province of China from 2021 to 2080 using the World Food Study model (WOFOST under representative concentration pathways (RCPs scenarios. A modeling chain was established and a correction method was proposed to reduce the bias of the resulting model-simulated climate data. The results indicated that adjusting the sowing dates and cultivars could mitigate the influences of climate change on winter wheat production in Jinagsu. The yield gains were projected from the chosen sowing date and cultivar. The following actions are recommended to ensure high and stable yields under future climate changes: (i advance the latest sowing date in some areas of northern Jiangsu; and (ii use heat-tolerant or heat-tolerant and drought-resistant varieties in most areas of Jiangsu rather than the currently used cultivar. Fewer of the common negative effects of using a single climate model occurred when using the sensitivity analysis because our bias correction method was effective for scenario data and because the WOFOST performed well for Jiangsu after calibration.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Rönsholt, Frederikke F; Ullum, Henrik; Katzenstein, Terese L
2012-01-01
healthy controls. METHODS:: Several different subsets of naïve, memory and activated T cells were analyzed in fresh whole blood by 6-color flowcytometry and ultra sensitive quantification of HIV RNA was performed. RESULTS:: HIV-infected patients (HIV+) had lower absolute and relative CD4 T cell counts...
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Li-da Sun
2018-01-01
Full Text Available Our previous studies showed that γδ T cells provided immune protection against Chlamydial muridarum (Cm, an obligate intracellular strain of chlamydia trachomatis, lung infection by producing abundant IL-17. In this study, we investigated the proliferation and activation of lung γδ T cell subsets, specifically the IL-17 and IFNγ production by them following Cm lung infection. Our results found that five γδ T cell subsets, Vγ1+ T, Vγ2+ T, Vγ4+ T, Vγ5+ T, and Vγ6+ T, expressed in lungs of naïve mice, while Cm lung infection mainly induced the proliferation and activation of Vγ4+ T cells at day 3 p.i., following Vγ1+ T cells at day 7 p.i. Cytokine detection showed that Cm lung infection induced IFNγ secretion firstly by Vγ4+ T cells at very early stage (day 3 and changed to Vγ1+ T cells at midstage (day 7. Furthermore, Vγ4+ T cell is the main γδ T cell subset that secretes IL-17 at the very early stage of Cm lung infection and Vγ1+ T cell did not secrete IL-17 during the infection. These findings provide in vivo evidence that Vγ4+T cells are the major IL-17 and IFNγ-producing γδ T cell subsets at the early period of Cm lung infection.
Subset geometric phase analysis method for deformation evaluation of HRTEM images
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Zhang, Hongye [School of Aerospace Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081 (China); Liu, Zhanwei, E-mail: liuzw@bit.edu.cn [School of Aerospace Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081 (China); Wen, Huihui [School of Aerospace Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081 (China); Xie, Huimin, E-mail: xiehm@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn [AML, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Liu, Chao [Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100083 (China)
2016-12-15
Geometrical phase analysis (GPA) is typically a powerful tool to investigate the deformation in high resolution transmission electron microscopy images and has been used in various fields. The traditional GPA method using the fast Fourier transform, referred to as global-GPA (G-GPA) here, is based on the relationship between the displacement and the phase difference. In this paper, a subset-GPA (S-GPA) is introduced for further improvement. The S-GPA performs the windowed Fourier transform block by block in the image. The maximum strain measurement scale of the GPA method is theoretically analyzed on the basic of the phase spectrum extraction process. The upper limit is one third of the atomic spacing. The results of various numerical simulations verified that the S-GPA method performs better than the traditional G-GPA method in both the homogeneous and inhomogeneous deformation conditions, with the evaluation parameter of calculation reliability of S-GPA 10% higher than G-GPA. Specifically, the measurement accuracy of S-GPA is about three times higher than the G-GPA when calculating small strain (less than 2000με). For the large strain (greater than 150000με), the measurement accuracy of S-GPA is about 50% higher than that of the G-GPA. Besides, the S-GPA method can significantly eliminate the phase filling effect, while the G-GPA cannot. The S-GPA method has been successfully applied to analyze the strain field distribution in an lnGaAs/InAlAs supperlattice heterostructure. - Highlights: • A subset-GPA method, performing the windowed Fourier transform block by block in HRTEM image, is systematically introduced. • According to the theoretical analysis, the upper limit of absolute maximum strain of GPA method is 1/3. • The measurement accuracy of S-GPA is about three times higher than that of the G-GPA when calculating small strain. • The measurement capability of S-GPA is about 50 percent higher than that of the G-GPA when calculating large strain.
Soufan, Othman
2012-01-01
proper criterion seeks to find the best subset of features describing data (relevance) and achieving better performance (optimality). Wrapper approaches are feature selection methods which are wrapped around a classification algorithm and use a
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Feng Yue
2008-01-01
Objective: To explore the changes of serum TNF-α, IFN-γ and T-cell subsets distribution pattern in pediatric patients with aplastic anemia. Methods: Serum TNF-α levels (with RIA), IFN-γ levels (with ELISA), peripheral blood T-cell subsets distribution pattern (with monoclonal antibody technique) were determined in 33 pediatric patients with aplastic anemia, as well as in 35 controls. Results: The serum levels of TNF-α and IFN-γ in the patients with aplastic anemia were significantly higher than those in the controls (P<0.01), while the CD3, CD4 percentages and CD4/CD8 ratio were significantly lower (P<0.01). Conclusion: Detection of changes of serum TNF-α, IFN-γ levels and T-cell subsets ratio was clinically useful for outcome prediction in pediatric patients with aplastic anemia. (authors)
Metabolomics analysis was performed on the supernatant of human embryonic stem (hES) cell cultures exposed to a blinded subset of 11 chemicals selected from the chemical library of EPA's ToxCast™ chemical screening and prioritization research project. Metabolites from hES cultur...
Hilário, M.; Hollander, den W.Th.F.; Sidoravicius, V.; Soares dos Santos, R.; Teixeira, A.
2014-01-01
In this paper we study a random walk in a one-dimensional dynamic random environment consisting of a collection of independent particles performing simple symmetric random walks in a Poisson equilibrium with density ¿¿(0,8). At each step the random walk performs a nearest-neighbour jump, moving to
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ng'ang'a Zipporah W
2008-11-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background The effects of Plasmodium falciparum on B-cell homeostasis have not been well characterized. This study investigated whether an episode of acute malaria in young children results in changes in the peripheral B cell phenotype. Methods Using flow-cytofluorimetric analysis, the B cell phenotypes found in the peripheral blood of children aged 2–5 years were characterized during an episode of acute uncomplicated clinical malaria and four weeks post-recovery and in healthy age-matched controls. Results There was a significant decrease in CD19+ B lymphocytes during acute malaria. Characterization of the CD19+ B cell subsets in the peripheral blood based on expression of IgD and CD38 revealed a significant decrease in the numbers of naive 1 CD38-IgD+ B cells while there was an increase in CD38+IgD- memory 3 B cells during acute malaria. Further analysis of the peripheral B cell phenotype also identified an expansion of transitional CD10+CD19+ B cells in children following an episode of acute malaria with up to 25% of total CD19+ B cell pool residing in this subset. Conclusion Children experiencing an episode of acute uncomplicated clinical malaria experienced profound disturbances in B cell homeostasis.
Edwards, Cherry; Belgrave, Danielle; Janossy, George; Bradley, Nicholas J; Stebbings, Richard; Gaines-Das, Rose; Thorpe, Robin; Sawle, Alex; Arroz, Maria Jorge; Brando, Bruno; Gratama, Jan Willem; Orfao de Matos, Alberto; Papa, Stephano; Papamichail, Michael; Lenkei, Rodica; Rothe, Gregor; Barnett, David
2005-06-22
BACKGROUND: Clinical indications for lymphocyte subset enumeration by flow cytometry include monitoring of disease progression and timing of therapeutic intervention in infection with human immunodeficiency virus. Until recently international standardisation has not been possible due to a lack of suitable stable reference material. METHODS: This study consisted of two trials of a stabilised whole blood preparation. Eleven participants were sent two standard protocols for staining plus gating strategy and asked to report absolute counts for lymphocyte subsets. RESULTS: No significant difference was detected between the two methods when results from the two assays and all partners were pooled. Significant differences in results from the different partners were observed. However, representative mean counts were obtained for geometric means, geometric coefficient of variation, and 95% confidence interval for CD3 910 cells/mul, 9%, and 888 to 933, respectively), CD4 (495 cells/mul, 12%, and 483 to 507), and CD8 (408 cells/mul, 13%, and 393 to 422). CONCLUSION: We have introduced a stabilised blood preparation and a well-characterized biological standard. The availability of this reference material greatly simplifies the validation of new techniques for CD4(+) T-cell enumeration and the expansion of external quality assurance programmes for clinical laboratories, including those that operate in resource-restricted environments. (c) 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database
Somol, Petr; Novovičová, Jana
2010-01-01
Roč. 32, č. 11 (2010), s. 1921-1939 ISSN 0162-8828 R&D Projects: GA MŠk 1M0572; GA ČR GA102/08/0593; GA ČR GA102/07/1594 Grant - others:GA MŠk(CZ) 2C06019 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10750506 Keywords : feature selection * feature stability * stability measures * similarity measures * sequential search * individual ranking * feature subset-size optimization * high dimensionality * small sample size Subject RIV: BD - Theory of Information Impact factor: 5.027, year: 2010 http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2010/RO/somol-0348726.pdf
Kuo, Yen-Shu; Yang, Shun-Chung; Chung, Hsiao-Wen; Wu, Wen-Chau
2018-02-01
Diffusion kurtosis (DK) imaging is a variant of conventional diffusion magnetic resonance (MR) imaging that allows assessment of non-Gaussian diffusion. Fast DK imaging expedites the procedure by decreasing both scan time (acquiring the minimally required number of b-values) and computation time (obviating least-square curve fitting). This study aimed to investigate the applicability of fast DK imaging for both cerebral gray matter and white matter as a quantitative method. Seventeen healthy volunteers were recruited and each provided written informed consent before participation. On a 3-Tesla clinical MR system, diffusion imaging was performed with 12 b-values ranging from 0 to 4000 s/mm 2 . Diffusion encoding was along three orthogonal directions (slice selection, phase encoding, and frequency encoding) in separate series. Candidate b-values were chosen by first determining the maximum b-value (b max ) in the context of signal-to-noise ratio and then assessing the model fidelity for all b-value combinations within b max . Diffusion coefficient (D) and diffusion kurtosis coefficient (K) were derived from these candidates and assessed for their dependence on b-value combination. Our data suggested b max to be 2200 s/mm 2 as a trade-off between the percentage (~80%) of voxels statistically detectable against background and the sensitivity to non-Gaussian diffusion in both gray matter and white matter. The measurement dependence on b-value was observed predominantly in areas with a considerable amount of cerebrospinal fluid. In most gray matter and white matter, b-value combinations do not cause statistical difference in the calculated D and K. For fast DK imaging to be quantitatively applicable in both gray matter and white matter, b max should be chosen to ensure adequate signal-to-noise ratio in the majority of gray/white matter and the two nonzero b-values should be chosen in consideration of model fidelity to mitigate the dependence of derived indices on b
Ka, Mignane B.; Gondois-Rey, Françoise; Capo, Christian; Textoris, Julien; Million, Mathieu; Raoult, Didier; Olive, Daniel; Mege, Jean-Louis
2014-01-01
Q fever endocarditis, a severe complication of Q fever, is associated with a defective immune response, the mechanisms of which are poorly understood. We hypothesized that Q fever immune deficiency is related to altered distribution and activation of circulating monocyte subsets. Monocyte subsets were analyzed by flow cytometry in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with Q fever endocarditis and controls. The proportion of classical monocytes (CD14+CD16− monocytes) was similar in patients and controls. In contrast, the patients with Q fever endocarditis exhibited a decrease in the non-classical and intermediate subsets of monocytes (CD16+ monocytes). The altered distribution of monocyte subsets in Q fever endocarditis was associated with changes in their activation profile. Indeed, the expression of HLA-DR, a canonical activation molecule, and PD-1, a co-inhibitory molecule, was increased in intermediate monocytes. This profile was not restricted to CD16+ monocytes because CD4+ T cells also overexpressed PD-1. The mechanism leading to the overexpression of PD-1 did not require the LPS from C. burnetii but involved interleukin-10, an immunosuppressive cytokine. Indeed, the incubation of control monocytes with interleukin-10 led to a higher expression of PD-1 and neutralizing interleukin-10 prevented C. burnetii-stimulated PD-1 expression. Taken together, these results show that the immune suppression of Q fever endocarditis involves a cross-talk between monocytes and CD4+ T cells expressing PD-1. The expression of PD-1 may be useful to assess chronic immune alterations in Q fever endocarditis. PMID:25211350
Stychno, Ewa; Kulczycka, Kinga
2016-01-01
Stychno Ewa, Kulczycka Kinga. Pracoholizm w kategoriach deprecjacji pracy pielęgniarki. Wybrane aspekty = Workaholism in categories of nurses’ work depreciation. Chosen aspects. Journal of Education, Health and Sport. 2016;6(10):11-21. eISSN 2391-8306. DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.159507 http://ojs.ukw.edu.pl/index.php/johs/article/view/3920 The journal has had 7 points in Ministry of Science and Higher Education parametric evaluation. Part B item 755 (23.12....
Bias in random forest variable importance measures: Illustrations, sources and a solution
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Hothorn Torsten
2007-01-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background Variable importance measures for random forests have been receiving increased attention as a means of variable selection in many classification tasks in bioinformatics and related scientific fields, for instance to select a subset of genetic markers relevant for the prediction of a certain disease. We show that random forest variable importance measures are a sensible means for variable selection in many applications, but are not reliable in situations where potential predictor variables vary in their scale of measurement or their number of categories. This is particularly important in genomics and computational biology, where predictors often include variables of different types, for example when predictors include both sequence data and continuous variables such as folding energy, or when amino acid sequence data show different numbers of categories. Results Simulation studies are presented illustrating that, when random forest variable importance measures are used with data of varying types, the results are misleading because suboptimal predictor variables may be artificially preferred in variable selection. The two mechanisms underlying this deficiency are biased variable selection in the individual classification trees used to build the random forest on one hand, and effects induced by bootstrap sampling with replacement on the other hand. Conclusion We propose to employ an alternative implementation of random forests, that provides unbiased variable selection in the individual classification trees. When this method is applied using subsampling without replacement, the resulting variable importance measures can be used reliably for variable selection even in situations where the potential predictor variables vary in their scale of measurement or their number of categories. The usage of both random forest algorithms and their variable importance measures in the R system for statistical computing is illustrated and
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Shi Buqing
2006-01-01
Objective: To study the changes of serum TNF-α levels, B-cell count and T-cell subsets distribution in peripheral blood in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Methods: Serum TNF-α levels (with RIA), B cell as well as T cell subsets distribution type (with monoclonal antibody technique) were examined in 37 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and 30 controls. Results Serum TNF-α levels and B lymphocytes count were significantly higher in the patients than those in controls (P 3 , CD 4 and CD 4 /CD 8 were obviously lower (P<0.01). Conclusion: Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease with abnormal immunoregulation. (authors)
Sulik, Artur; Oldak, Elzbieta; Kroten, Anna; Lipska, Alina; Radziwon, Piotr
2014-09-01
Epstein-Barr virus is a common human pathogen which infects the great majority of population worldwide. A striking proliferation of CD8⁺ T cells is an immune response to EBV invasion of B lymphocytes during infectious mononucleosis. The aim of the study was to analyze frequencies of CD28⁺CD95⁻, CD28⁺CD95⁺, CD28⁻CD95⁺ T cell subsets putative naïve (T(N)), central (T(CM)) and effector memory (T(EM)) T cells in children with infectious mononucleosis. Multiparameter flow cytometric analysis of CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cell subsets was performed in 19 children with acute infectious mononucleosis. The CD4⁺/CD8⁺ ratio was found to be decreased (0.53) in children with infectious mononucleosis. Median T(N), T(CM), T(EM) frequencies were estimated to be 3.7, 4.5, 15.1% of CD8⁺ and 23, 59.3, 5.5% of CD4⁺ T cells, respectively. In the present study we demonstrated negative correlations between CD8⁺CD28⁺CD95⁺ and CD8⁺CD28⁻CD95⁺ T cells and both VCA IgM antibody titers and disease duration. However, no such correlation was found when subset of CD4⁺ T cells or CD8⁺CD28⁺CD95⁻ cells was compared. We conclude that there is a rapid decrease in the number of memory CD8⁺ T cells in early acute stage of infectious mononucleosis. Copyright © 2014 Medical University of Bialystok. Published by Elsevier Urban & Partner Sp. z o.o. All rights reserved.
Borriello, Francesco; Iannone, Raffaella; Di Somma, Sarah; Vastolo, Viviana; Petrosino, Giuseppe; Visconte, Feliciano; Raia, Maddalena; Scalia, Giulia; Loffredo, Stefania; Varricchi, Gilda; Galdiero, Maria Rosaria; Granata, Francescopaolo; Del Vecchio, Luigi; Portella, Giuseppe; Marone, Gianni
2017-05-01
Thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) is a cytokine produced mainly by epithelial cells in response to inflammatory or microbial stimuli and binds to the TSLP receptor (TSLPR) complex, a heterodimer composed of TSLPR and IL-7 receptor α (CD127). TSLP activates multiple immune cell subsets expressing the TSLPR complex and plays a role in several models of disease. Although human monocytes express TSLPR and CD127 mRNAs in response to the TLR4 agonist LPS, their responsiveness to TSLP is poorly defined. We demonstrate that TSLP enhances human CD14 + monocyte CCL17 production in response to LPS and IL-4. Surprisingly, only a subset of CD14 + CD16 - monocytes, TSLPR + monocytes (TSLPR + mono), expresses TSLPR complex upon LPS stimulation in an NF-κB- and p38-dependent manner. Phenotypic, functional, and transcriptomic analysis revealed specific features of TSLPR + mono, including higher CCL17 and IL-10 production and increased expression of genes with important immune functions (i.e., GAS6 , ALOX15B , FCGR2B , LAIR1 ). Strikingly, TSLPR + mono express higher levels of the dendritic cell marker CD1c. This evidence led us to identify a subset of peripheral blood CD14 + CD1c + cells that expresses the highest levels of TSLPR upon LPS stimulation. The translational relevance of these findings is highlighted by the higher expression of TSLPR and CD127 mRNAs in monocytes isolated from patients with Gram-negative sepsis compared with healthy control subjects. Our results emphasize a phenotypic and functional heterogeneity in an apparently homogeneous population of human CD14 + CD16 - monocytes and prompt further ontogenetic and functional analysis of CD14 + CD1c + and LPS-activated CD14 + CD1c + TSLPR + mono. Copyright © 2017 by The American Association of Immunologists, Inc.
Complete synchronization of chaotic atmospheric models by connecting only a subset of state space
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
P. H. Hiemstra
2012-11-01
Full Text Available Connected chaotic systems can, under some circumstances, synchronize their states with an exchange of matter and energy between the systems. This is the case for toy models like the Lorenz 63, and more complex models. In this study we perform synchronization experiments with two connected quasi-geostrophic (QG models of the atmosphere with 1449 degrees of freedom. The purpose is to determine whether connecting only a subset of the model state space can still lead to complete synchronization (CS. In addition, we evaluated whether empirical orthogonal functions (EOF form efficient basis functions for synchronization in order to limit the number of connections. In this paper, we show that only the intermediate spectral wavenumbers (5–12 need to be connected in order to achieve CS. In addition, the minimum connection timescale needed for CS is 7.3 days. Both the connection subset and the connection timescale, or strength, are consistent with the time and spatial scales of the baroclinic instabilities in the model. This is in line with the fact that the baroclinic instabilities are the largest source of divergence between the two connected models. Using the Lorenz 63 model, we show that EOFs are nearly optimal basis functions for synchronization. The QG model results show that the minimum number of EOFs that need to be connected for CS is a factor of three smaller than when connecting the original state variables.
Effect of Smoking on Peripheral Blood Lymphocyte Subsets of Patients With Chronic Renal Failure.
Düvenci Birben, Özlem; Akçay, Şule; Sezer, Siren; Şirvan, Şale; Haberal, Mehmet
2016-11-01
Smoking is known to suppress the immune system. It is also known that chronic renal failure affects the immune system. However, the number of studies investigating the effects of chronic renal failure and smoking together is limited. In our study, we examined whether smoking affects the diminished response of the immune system in patients with chronic renal failure. We compared peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets in smoking and nonsmoking patients with chronic renal failure. We also used the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence to evaluate its correlation with the lymphocyte subset count in patients who are current smokers. Our study included 126 patients with chronic renal failure. According to their smoking habits, patients were divided into 2 groups: smokers and nonsmokers. The average age of patients who were smokers was 53.2 ± 1.5 years, with average age of nonsmokers being 59.2 ± 2.2 years. The average duration of smoking in smokers was 30.7 ± 2.7 packyears. We found that the percentage of cluster of differentiation 16-56 cells (natural killer cells) and lymphocyte percentage were significantly lower among smokers in our study (P chronic renal failure, similar to that shown in healthy smokers. According to our findings, patients with chronic renal failure, where infection is the primary reason for mortality and morbidity, must be questioned for smoking and referred to smoking cessation clinics. Because of its immunosuppressive effects, smoking behaviors must be solved preoperatively in transplant candidates.
Distinguishing deterministic and noise components in ELM time series
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Zvejnieks, G.; Kuzovkov, V.N
2004-01-01
Full text: One of the main problems in the preliminary data analysis is distinguishing the deterministic and noise components in the experimental signals. For example, in plasma physics the question arises analyzing edge localized modes (ELMs): is observed ELM behavior governed by a complicate deterministic chaos or just by random processes. We have developed methodology based on financial engineering principles, which allows us to distinguish deterministic and noise components. We extended the linear auto regression method (AR) by including the non-linearity (NAR method). As a starting point we have chosen the nonlinearity in the polynomial form, however, the NAR method can be extended to any other type of non-linear functions. The best polynomial model describing the experimental ELM time series was selected using Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC). With this method we have analyzed type I ELM behavior in a subset of ASDEX Upgrade shots. Obtained results indicate that a linear AR model can describe the ELM behavior. In turn, it means that type I ELM behavior is of a relaxation or random type
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Pedersen, Martin Bjerregård; Hamilton-Dutoit, Stephen Jacques; Bendix, Knud
2014-01-01
Identification of a subset of perpheral T-cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified, characterized by FOXP3-positive regulatory T-cell phenotype, HTLV-1 negativity and poor outcome.......Identification of a subset of perpheral T-cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified, characterized by FOXP3-positive regulatory T-cell phenotype, HTLV-1 negativity and poor outcome....
Bayesian Subset Modeling for High-Dimensional Generalized Linear Models
Liang, Faming
2013-06-01
This article presents a new prior setting for high-dimensional generalized linear models, which leads to a Bayesian subset regression (BSR) with the maximum a posteriori model approximately equivalent to the minimum extended Bayesian information criterion model. The consistency of the resulting posterior is established under mild conditions. Further, a variable screening procedure is proposed based on the marginal inclusion probability, which shares the same properties of sure screening and consistency with the existing sure independence screening (SIS) and iterative sure independence screening (ISIS) procedures. However, since the proposed procedure makes use of joint information from all predictors, it generally outperforms SIS and ISIS in real applications. This article also makes extensive comparisons of BSR with the popular penalized likelihood methods, including Lasso, elastic net, SIS, and ISIS. The numerical results indicate that BSR can generally outperform the penalized likelihood methods. The models selected by BSR tend to be sparser and, more importantly, of higher prediction ability. In addition, the performance of the penalized likelihood methods tends to deteriorate as the number of predictors increases, while this is not significant for BSR. Supplementary materials for this article are available online. © 2013 American Statistical Association.
Ewa Stychno; Kinga Kulczycka
2016-01-01
Stychno Ewa, Kulczycka Kinga. Pracoholizm w kategoriach deprecjacji pracy pielęgniarki. Wybrane aspekty = Workaholism in categories of nurses’ work depreciation. Chosen aspects. Journal of Education, Health and Sport. 2016;6(10):11-21. eISSN 2391-8306. DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.159507 http://ojs.ukw.edu.pl/index.php/johs/article/view/3920 The journal has had 7 points in Ministry of Science and Higher Education parametric evaluation. Part B item 755 (23.12.2...
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Yu Zhengqin; Li Keqin; Xiang Hengquan
2006-01-01
Objective: To investigate the changes of serum SOD contents and T-cell subsets distribution type after leukocyte-deduced red blood cell transfusion in patients with lung cancer. Methods: Serum SOD levels was measured with RIA and T-cell subsets distribution type was detected with monoclonal antibody technic both before and after leukocyte-deduced red blood cell transfusion in 32 patients with lung cancer and 35 normal controls. Results: Before treatment, the serum levels of SOD and T-cell CIM/ CD8 value were significantly lower in the patients than those in controls (P 0.05). Conclusion: Determination of serum SOD level and T-cell subsets distribution type is clinically useful in the management of patients with lung cancer. (authors)
Li, Juan
2011-03-01
To study the change law of serum IL-6, TNF-α and peripheral blood T lymphocyte subsets in the pregnant women during perinatal period. 100 pregnant women in our hospital from November 2009 to October 2010 were selected as research object, and the serum IL-6, TNF-α and peripheral blood T lymphocyte subsets be-fore and at labor onset occurring, after delivery at the first and third day were analyzed and compared. According the study, the serum IL-6 and TNF-aat labor onset occurring were higher than those before labor onset and af-ter delivery at the first and third day , the CD3(+), CD4 (+), CD8(+) and CD4/CD8 decreased first and then increased, all P < 0. 05, there were significant differences. The changes of serum IL-6, TNF-α and peripheral blood T lymphocyte subsets in the pregnant women during perinatal period has a regular pattern, and it is worthy of.
Random mask optimization for fast neutron coded aperture imaging
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
McMillan, Kyle [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States); Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States); Marleau, Peter [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States); Brubaker, Erik [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States)
2015-05-01
In coded aperture imaging, one of the most important factors determining the quality of reconstructed images is the choice of mask/aperture pattern. In many applications, uniformly redundant arrays (URAs) are widely accepted as the optimal mask pattern. Under ideal conditions, thin and highly opaque masks, URA patterns are mathematically constructed to provide artifact-free reconstruction however, the number of URAs for a chosen number of mask elements is limited and when highly penetrating particles such as fast neutrons and high-energy gamma-rays are being imaged, the optimum is seldom achieved. In this case more robust mask patterns that provide better reconstructed image quality may exist. Through the use of heuristic optimization methods and maximum likelihood expectation maximization (MLEM) image reconstruction, we show that for both point and extended neutron sources a random mask pattern can be optimized to provide better image quality than that of a URA.
Key-space analysis of double random phase encryption technique
Monaghan, David S.; Gopinathan, Unnikrishnan; Naughton, Thomas J.; Sheridan, John T.
2007-09-01
We perform a numerical analysis on the double random phase encryption/decryption technique. The key-space of an encryption technique is the set of possible keys that can be used to encode data using that technique. In the case of a strong encryption scheme, many keys must be tried in any brute-force attack on that technique. Traditionally, designers of optical image encryption systems demonstrate only how a small number of arbitrary keys cannot decrypt a chosen encrypted image in their system. However, this type of demonstration does not discuss the properties of the key-space nor refute the feasibility of an efficient brute-force attack. To clarify these issues we present a key-space analysis of the technique. For a range of problem instances we plot the distribution of decryption errors in the key-space indicating the lack of feasibility of a simple brute-force attack.
How random is a random vector?
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Eliazar, Iddo
2015-01-01
Over 80 years ago Samuel Wilks proposed that the “generalized variance” of a random vector is the determinant of its covariance matrix. To date, the notion and use of the generalized variance is confined only to very specific niches in statistics. In this paper we establish that the “Wilks standard deviation” –the square root of the generalized variance–is indeed the standard deviation of a random vector. We further establish that the “uncorrelation index” –a derivative of the Wilks standard deviation–is a measure of the overall correlation between the components of a random vector. Both the Wilks standard deviation and the uncorrelation index are, respectively, special cases of two general notions that we introduce: “randomness measures” and “independence indices” of random vectors. In turn, these general notions give rise to “randomness diagrams”—tangible planar visualizations that answer the question: How random is a random vector? The notion of “independence indices” yields a novel measure of correlation for Lévy laws. In general, the concepts and results presented in this paper are applicable to any field of science and engineering with random-vectors empirical data.
How random is a random vector?
Eliazar, Iddo
2015-12-01
Over 80 years ago Samuel Wilks proposed that the "generalized variance" of a random vector is the determinant of its covariance matrix. To date, the notion and use of the generalized variance is confined only to very specific niches in statistics. In this paper we establish that the "Wilks standard deviation" -the square root of the generalized variance-is indeed the standard deviation of a random vector. We further establish that the "uncorrelation index" -a derivative of the Wilks standard deviation-is a measure of the overall correlation between the components of a random vector. Both the Wilks standard deviation and the uncorrelation index are, respectively, special cases of two general notions that we introduce: "randomness measures" and "independence indices" of random vectors. In turn, these general notions give rise to "randomness diagrams"-tangible planar visualizations that answer the question: How random is a random vector? The notion of "independence indices" yields a novel measure of correlation for Lévy laws. In general, the concepts and results presented in this paper are applicable to any field of science and engineering with random-vectors empirical data.
Randomized random walk on a random walk
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Lee, P.A.
1983-06-01
This paper discusses generalizations of the model introduced by Kehr and Kunter of the random walk of a particle on a one-dimensional chain which in turn has been constructed by a random walk procedure. The superimposed random walk is randomised in time according to the occurrences of a stochastic point process. The probability of finding the particle in a particular position at a certain instant is obtained explicitly in the transform domain. It is found that the asymptotic behaviour for large time of the mean-square displacement of the particle depends critically on the assumed structure of the basic random walk, giving a diffusion-like term for an asymmetric walk or a square root law if the walk is symmetric. Many results are obtained in closed form for the Poisson process case, and these agree with those given previously by Kehr and Kunter. (author)
Subset of nursing diagnoses for the elderly in Primary Health Care
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jorge Wilker Bezerra Clares
2016-04-01
Full Text Available Abstract OBJECTIVE To develop a subset of nursing diagnoses for the elderly followed in primary health care based on the bank of terms for clinical nursing practice with the elderly, in the International Classification for Nursing Practice (ICNP(r version 2013, and on the Model of Nursing Care. METHOD Descriptive study developed in sequential steps of construction and validation of the bank of terms, elaboration of the nursing diagnoses based on the guidelines of the International Council of Nurses and the bank of terms, and categorization of diagnostics according to the Care Model. RESULTS The total of 127 nursing diagnoses were elaborated from 359 validated terms, distributed according to the basic human needs. CONCLUSION It is expected that these diagnoses will form the basis for the planning of nursing care and use of a unified language for documentation of clinical nursing practice with the elderly in primary care.
Decontaminate feature for tracking: adaptive tracking via evolutionary feature subset
Liu, Qiaoyuan; Wang, Yuru; Yin, Minghao; Ren, Jinchang; Li, Ruizhi
2017-11-01
Although various visual tracking algorithms have been proposed in the last 2-3 decades, it remains a challenging problem for effective tracking with fast motion, deformation, occlusion, etc. Under complex tracking conditions, most tracking models are not discriminative and adaptive enough. When the combined feature vectors are inputted to the visual models, this may lead to redundancy causing low efficiency and ambiguity causing poor performance. An effective tracking algorithm is proposed to decontaminate features for each video sequence adaptively, where the visual modeling is treated as an optimization problem from the perspective of evolution. Every feature vector is compared to a biological individual and then decontaminated via classical evolutionary algorithms. With the optimized subsets of features, the "curse of dimensionality" has been avoided while the accuracy of the visual model has been improved. The proposed algorithm has been tested on several publicly available datasets with various tracking challenges and benchmarked with a number of state-of-the-art approaches. The comprehensive experiments have demonstrated the efficacy of the proposed methodology.
The importance of the chosen technique to estimate diffuse solar radiation by means of regression
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Arslan, Talha; Altyn Yavuz, Arzu [Department of Statistics. Science and Literature Faculty. Eskisehir Osmangazi University (Turkey)], email: mtarslan@ogu.edu.tr, email: aaltin@ogu.edu.tr; Acikkalp, Emin [Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering. Engineering Faculty. Bilecik University (Turkey)], email: acikkalp@gmail.com
2011-07-01
The Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) method is one of the most frequently used for estimation of diffuse solar radiation. The data set must provide certain assumptions for the OLS method to work. The most important is that the regression equation offered by OLS error terms must fit within the normal distribution. Utilizing an alternative robust estimator to get parameter estimations is highly effective in solving problems where there is a lack of normal distribution due to the presence of outliers or some other factor. The purpose of this study is to investigate the value of the chosen technique for the estimation of diffuse radiation. This study described alternative robust methods frequently used in applications and compared them with the OLS method. Making a comparison of the data set analysis of the OLS and that of the M Regression (Huber, Andrews and Tukey) techniques, it was study found that robust regression techniques are preferable to OLS because of the smoother explanation values.
2010-07-01
... 40 Protection of Environment 6 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false How do I perform the initial... § 60.4405 How do I perform the initial performance test if I have chosen to install a NOX-diluent CEMS... of nine RATA reference method runs, with a minimum time per run of 21 minutes, at a single load level...
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Shetty, Nisha; Min, Tai-Gi; Gislum, René
2011-01-01
The effects of the number of seeds in a training sample set on the ability to predict the viability of cabbage or radish seeds are presented and discussed. The supervised classification method extended canonical variates analysis (ECVA) was used to develop a classification model. Calibration sub......-sets of different sizes were chosen randomly with several iterations and using the spectral-based sample selection algorithms DUPLEX and CADEX. An independent test set was used to validate the developed classification models. The results showed that 200 seeds were optimal in a calibration set for both cabbage...... using all 600 seeds in the calibration set. Thus, the number of seeds in the calibration set can be reduced by up to 67% without significant loss of classification accuracy, which will effectively enhance the cost-effectiveness of NIR spectral analysis. Wavelength regions important...
Random sequential adsorption with two components: asymptotic analysis and finite size effects
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Reeve, Louise; Wattis, Jonathan A D
2015-01-01
We consider the model of random sequential adsorption (RSA) in which two lengths of rod-like polymer compete for binding on a long straight rigid one-dimensional substrate. We take all lengths to be discrete, assume that binding is irreversible, and short or long polymers are chosen at random with some probability. We consider both the cases where the polymers have similar lengths and when the lengths are vastly different. We use a combination of numerical simulations, computation and asymptotic analysis to study the adsorption process, specifically, analysing how competition between the two polymer lengths affects the final coverage, and how the coverage depends on the relative sizes of the two species and their relative binding rates. We find that the final coverage is always higher than in the one-species RSA, and that the highest coverage is achieved when the rate of binding of the longer polymer is higher. We find that for many binding rates and relative lengths of binding species, the coverage due to the shorter species decreases with increasing substrate length, although there is a small region of parameter space in which all coverages increase with substrate length. (paper)
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Christopher Ecker
2018-04-01
Full Text Available Summary: T cells compete with malignant cells for limited nutrients within the solid tumor microenvironment. We found that effector memory CD4 T cells respond distinctly from other T cell subsets to limiting glucose and can maintain high levels of interferon-γ (IFN-γ production in a nutrient-poor environment. Unlike naive (TN or central memory T (TCM cells, effector memory T (TEM cells fail to upregulate fatty acid synthesis, oxidative phosphorylation, and reductive glutaminolysis in limiting glucose. Interference of fatty acid synthesis in naive T cells dramatically upregulates IFN-γ, while increasing exogenous lipids in media inhibits production of IFN-γ by all subsets, suggesting that relative ratio of fatty acid metabolism to glycolysis is a direct predictor of T cell effector activity. Together, these data suggest that effector memory T cells are programmed to have limited ability to synthesize and metabolize fatty acids, which allows them to maintain T cell function in nutrient-depleted microenvironments. : Ecker et al. distinguish unique metabolic and functional properties of naive and memory T cell subsets during glucose limitation. During glucose starvation, T cells begin to differentially rely on fatty acid synthesis and glutamine utilization to survive. Unexpectedly, reliance on fatty acid synthesis alters the ability to produce IFN-γ. Keywords: lipid droplets, IFN-γ, oxidative phosphorylation, reductive glutaminolysis, serum-free media, naive T cell, glycolysis, effector memory T cell, fatty acid synthesis
Bayram, B.; Erdem, F.; Akpinar, B.; Ince, A. K.; Bozkurt, S.; Catal Reis, H.; Seker, D. Z.
2017-11-01
Coastal monitoring plays a vital role in environmental planning and hazard management related issues. Since shorelines are fundamental data for environment management, disaster management, coastal erosion studies, modelling of sediment transport and coastal morphodynamics, various techniques have been developed to extract shorelines. Random Forest is one of these techniques which is used in this study for shoreline extraction.. This algorithm is a machine learning method based on decision trees. Decision trees analyse classes of training data creates rules for classification. In this study, Terkos region has been chosen for the proposed method within the scope of "TUBITAK Project (Project No: 115Y718) titled "Integration of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Sustainable Coastal Zone Monitoring Model - Three-Dimensional Automatic Coastline Extraction and Analysis: Istanbul-Terkos Example". Random Forest algorithm has been implemented to extract the shoreline of the Black Sea where near the lake from LANDSAT-8 and GOKTURK-2 satellite imageries taken in 2015. The MATLAB environment was used for classification. To obtain land and water-body classes, the Random Forest method has been applied to NIR bands of LANDSAT-8 (5th band) and GOKTURK-2 (4th band) imageries. Each image has been digitized manually and shorelines obtained for accuracy assessment. According to accuracy assessment results, Random Forest method is efficient for both medium and high resolution images for shoreline extraction studies.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
B. Bayram
2017-11-01
Full Text Available Coastal monitoring plays a vital role in environmental planning and hazard management related issues. Since shorelines are fundamental data for environment management, disaster management, coastal erosion studies, modelling of sediment transport and coastal morphodynamics, various techniques have been developed to extract shorelines. Random Forest is one of these techniques which is used in this study for shoreline extraction.. This algorithm is a machine learning method based on decision trees. Decision trees analyse classes of training data creates rules for classification. In this study, Terkos region has been chosen for the proposed method within the scope of "TUBITAK Project (Project No: 115Y718 titled "Integration of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Sustainable Coastal Zone Monitoring Model – Three-Dimensional Automatic Coastline Extraction and Analysis: Istanbul-Terkos Example". Random Forest algorithm has been implemented to extract the shoreline of the Black Sea where near the lake from LANDSAT-8 and GOKTURK-2 satellite imageries taken in 2015. The MATLAB environment was used for classification. To obtain land and water-body classes, the Random Forest method has been applied to NIR bands of LANDSAT-8 (5th band and GOKTURK-2 (4th band imageries. Each image has been digitized manually and shorelines obtained for accuracy assessment. According to accuracy assessment results, Random Forest method is efficient for both medium and high resolution images for shoreline extraction studies.
Circulating Lymphocyte Subsets in Patients with Lung Cancer and Their Prognostic Value
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jun LUO
2011-08-01
Full Text Available Background and objective Lung cancer is one of the most common malignancies. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between the change of lymphocyte subsets in the peripheral blood of lung cancer patients and the survival rate. Methods Flow cytometry was used to measure the percentages of lymphocyte subsets (CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, CD4+/CD8+, CD19+, CD25+, CD44+, and NK cells in peripheral blood obtained from 221 patients with primary lung cancer without any treatment and from 96 healthy blood donors as the control group. The result was combined with clinical and follow-up data and statistical analysis was conducted. Results The levels of CD3+ and CD8+ in the patient group are significantly lower compared with the control group, whereas the levels of CD4+/CD8+, CD19+, CD25+, CD44+, and NK cells are significantly higher (P<0.05. CD8+ is significantly higher in the small cell lung cancer (SCLC group compared with the non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC group. However, CD4+ and CD4+/CD8+ are lower in SCLC (P<0.05. There were no significant differences in different stages and differentiation (P>0.05 in the NSCLC group. The level of CD3+ was significantly higher compared with the pre-chemotherapy group, but NK cell, CD19+, and CD44+ were distinctly lower in the post-chemotherapy group (P<0.05. More survival opportunities will be obtained for patients with no increase in CD44+ after chemotherapy (P=0.021, but the other three indices have no obvious influence on survival. Conclusion Widespread changes of lymphocyte occur in the peripheral blood of patients with lung cancer. There is a significant correlation between the change of CD44+ and the prognosis after chemotherapy.
Improving the characterization of endothelial progenitor cell subsets by an optimized FACS protocol.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Karin Huizer
Full Text Available The characterization of circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs is fundamental to any study related to angiogenesis. Unfortunately, current literature lacks consistency in the definition of EPC subsets due to variations in isolation strategies and inconsistencies in the use of lineage markers. Here we address critical points in the identification of hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs, circulating endothelial cells (CECs, and culture-generated outgrowth endothelial cells (OECs from blood samples of healthy adults (AB and umbilical cord (UCB. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs were enriched using a Ficoll-based gradient followed by an optimized staining and gating strategy to enrich for the target cells. Sorted EPC populations were subjected to RT-PCR for tracing the expression of markers beyond the limits of cell surface-based immunophenotyping. Using CD34, CD133 and c-kit staining, combined with FSC and SSC, we succeeded in the accurate and reproducible identification of four HPC subgroups and found significant differences in the respective populations in AB vs. UCB. Co-expression analysis of endothelial markers on HPCs revealed a complex pattern characterized by various subpopulations. CECs were identified by using CD34, KDR, CD45, and additional endothelial markers, and were subdivided according to their apoptotic state and expression of c-kit. Comparison of UCB-CECs vs. AB-CECs revealed significant differences in CD34 and KDR levels. OECs were grown from PBMC-fractions We found that viable c-kit+ CECs are a candidate circulating precursor for CECs. RT-PCR to angiogenic factors and receptors revealed that all EPC subsets expressed angiogenesis-related molecules. Taken together, the improvements in immunophenotyping and gating strategies resulted in accurate identification and comparison of better defined cell populations in a single procedure.
Sidik, S. M.
1975-01-01
Ridge, Marquardt's generalized inverse, shrunken, and principal components estimators are discussed in terms of the objectives of point estimation of parameters, estimation of the predictive regression function, and hypothesis testing. It is found that as the normal equations approach singularity, more consideration must be given to estimable functions of the parameters as opposed to estimation of the full parameter vector; that biased estimators all introduce constraints on the parameter space; that adoption of mean squared error as a criterion of goodness should be independent of the degree of singularity; and that ordinary least-squares subset regression is the best overall method.
Long term impact of high titer Edmonston-Zagreb measles vaccine on T lymphocyte subsets
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Lisse, I M; Aaby, P; Knudsen, K
1994-01-01
Several trials of high titer measles vaccine (> 10(4.7) plaque-forming unit) have found female recipients of Edmonston-Zagreb (EZ) vaccine to have lower survival than female recipients of standard measles vaccine. Two trials with medium and high titer EZ vaccine from the age of 4 months were...... unlikely to explain the reduced survival which has been associated with high titer EZ measles vaccination. In the 2 years after the investigation of T cell subsets, there was no increased mortality for recipients of EZ vaccine. Hence it is unlikely that high titer vaccine has an persistent adverse effect...
Kenmoku, Hiroyuki; Ishikawa, Hiroki; Ote, Manabu; Kuraishi, Takayuki; Kurata, Shoichiro
2016-08-01
The metazoan gut performs multiple physiological functions, including digestion and absorption of nutrients, and also serves as a physical and chemical barrier against ingested pathogens and abrasive particles. Maintenance of these functions and structures is partly controlled by the nervous system, yet the precise roles and mechanisms of the neural control of gut integrity remain to be clarified in Drosophila Here, we screened for GAL4 enhancer-trap strains and labeled a specific subsets of neurons, using Kir2.1 to inhibit their activity. We identified an NP3253 line that is susceptible to oral infection by Gram-negative bacteria. The subset of neurons driven by the NP3253 line includes some of the enteric neurons innervating the anterior midgut, and these flies have a disorganized proventricular structure with high permeability of the peritrophic matrix and epithelial barrier. The findings of the present study indicate that neural control is crucial for maintaining the barrier function of the gut, and provide a route for genetic dissection of the complex brain-gut axis in adults of the model organism Drosophila. © 2016. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Raggi, Chiara; Correnti, Margherita; Sica, Antonio
2017-01-01
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Therapeutically challenging subset, termed cancer stem cells (CSCs) are responsible for cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) clinical severity. Presence of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) has prognostic significance in CCA and other malignancies. Thus, we hypothesized that CSCs may......-activator. Gene expression profile of CCA-SPH activated MØ (SPH MØ) revealed unique molecular TAM-like features confirmed by high invasion capacity. Also, freshly isolated MØs from CCA-resections recapitulated similar molecular phenotype of in vitro educated-MØs. Consistently with invasive features, largest CD163...... providing a rationale for a synergistic therapeutic strategy for CCA-disease. LAY SUMMARY: Immune plasticity represents an important hallmark of tumor outcome. Since cancer stem cells are able to manipulate stromal cells to their needs, a better definition of key deregulated immune subtype responsible...
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Kleinstreuer, N.C., E-mail: kleinstreuer.nicole@epa.gov [NCCT, US EPA, RTP, NC 27711 (United States); Smith, A.M.; West, P.R.; Conard, K.R.; Fontaine, B.R. [Stemina Biomarker Discovery, Inc., Madison, WI 53719 (United States); Weir-Hauptman, A.M. [Covance, Inc., Madison, WI 53704 (United States); Palmer, J.A. [Stemina Biomarker Discovery, Inc., Madison, WI 53719 (United States); Knudsen, T.B.; Dix, D.J. [NCCT, US EPA, RTP, NC 27711 (United States); Donley, E.L.R. [Stemina Biomarker Discovery, Inc., Madison, WI 53719 (United States); Cezar, G.G. [Stemina Biomarker Discovery, Inc., Madison, WI 53719 (United States); University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706 (United States)
2011-11-15
Metabolomics analysis was performed on the supernatant of human embryonic stem (hES) cell cultures exposed to a blinded subset of 11 chemicals selected from the chemical library of EPA's ToxCast Trade-Mark-Sign chemical screening and prioritization research project. Metabolites from hES cultures were evaluated for known and novel signatures that may be indicative of developmental toxicity. Significant fold changes in endogenous metabolites were detected for 83 putatively annotated mass features in response to the subset of ToxCast chemicals. The annotations were mapped to specific human metabolic pathways. This revealed strong effects on pathways for nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolism, pantothenate and CoA biosynthesis, glutathione metabolism, and arginine and proline metabolism pathways. Predictivity for adverse outcomes in mammalian prenatal developmental toxicity studies used ToxRefDB and other sources of information, including Stemina Biomarker Discovery's predictive DevTox Registered-Sign model trained on 23 pharmaceutical agents of known developmental toxicity and differing potency. The model initially predicted developmental toxicity from the blinded ToxCast compounds in concordance with animal data with 73% accuracy. Retraining the model with data from the unblinded test compounds at one concentration level increased the predictive accuracy for the remaining concentrations to 83%. These preliminary results on a 11-chemical subset of the ToxCast chemical library indicate that metabolomics analysis of the hES secretome provides information valuable for predictive modeling and mechanistic understanding of mammalian developmental toxicity. -- Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We tested 11 environmental compounds in a hESC metabolomics platform. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Significant changes in secreted small molecule metabolites were observed. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Perturbed mass features map to pathways critical for normal
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Kleinstreuer, N.C.; Smith, A.M.; West, P.R.; Conard, K.R.; Fontaine, B.R.; Weir-Hauptman, A.M.; Palmer, J.A.; Knudsen, T.B.; Dix, D.J.; Donley, E.L.R.; Cezar, G.G.
2011-01-01
Metabolomics analysis was performed on the supernatant of human embryonic stem (hES) cell cultures exposed to a blinded subset of 11 chemicals selected from the chemical library of EPA's ToxCast™ chemical screening and prioritization research project. Metabolites from hES cultures were evaluated for known and novel signatures that may be indicative of developmental toxicity. Significant fold changes in endogenous metabolites were detected for 83 putatively annotated mass features in response to the subset of ToxCast chemicals. The annotations were mapped to specific human metabolic pathways. This revealed strong effects on pathways for nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolism, pantothenate and CoA biosynthesis, glutathione metabolism, and arginine and proline metabolism pathways. Predictivity for adverse outcomes in mammalian prenatal developmental toxicity studies used ToxRefDB and other sources of information, including Stemina Biomarker Discovery's predictive DevTox® model trained on 23 pharmaceutical agents of known developmental toxicity and differing potency. The model initially predicted developmental toxicity from the blinded ToxCast compounds in concordance with animal data with 73% accuracy. Retraining the model with data from the unblinded test compounds at one concentration level increased the predictive accuracy for the remaining concentrations to 83%. These preliminary results on a 11-chemical subset of the ToxCast chemical library indicate that metabolomics analysis of the hES secretome provides information valuable for predictive modeling and mechanistic understanding of mammalian developmental toxicity. -- Highlights: ► We tested 11 environmental compounds in a hESC metabolomics platform. ► Significant changes in secreted small molecule metabolites were observed. ► Perturbed mass features map to pathways critical for normal development and pregnancy. ► Arginine, proline, nicotinate, nicotinamide and glutathione pathways were affected.
ten Berge, R. J.; Schellekens, P. T.; Budding-Koppenol, A.; Dooren, L. J.; Vossen, J. M.
1987-01-01
Natural killer-cell activity for K562 target cells was measured in 13 patients with severe combined immunodeficiency before bone marrow transplantation. Both unseparated peripheral blood mononuclear cells and sorted cell subsets (B73.1 positive, B73.1 negative, OKT3 positive, OKT3 negative) were
Ikebuchi, Ryoyo; Teraguchi, Shunsuke; Vandenbon, Alexis; Honda, Tetsuya; Shand, Francis H W; Nakanishi, Yasutaka; Watanabe, Takeshi; Tomura, Michio
2016-10-19
Foxp3 + regulatory T cells (Tregs) migrating from the skin to the draining lymph node (dLN) have a strong immunosuppressive effect on the cutaneous immune response. However, the subpopulations responsible for their inhibitory function remain unclear. We investigated single-cell gene expression heterogeneity in Tregs from the dLN of inflamed skin in a contact hypersensitivity model. The immunosuppressive genes Ctla4 and Tgfb1 were expressed in the majority of Tregs. Although Il10-expressing Tregs were rare, unexpectedly, the majority of Il10-expressing Tregs co-expressed Gzmb and displayed Th1-skewing. Single-cell profiling revealed that CD43 + CCR5 + Tregs represented the main subset within the Il10/Gzmb-expressing cell population in the dLN. Moreover, CD43 + CCR5 + CXCR3 - Tregs expressed skin-tropic chemokine receptors, were preferentially retained in inflamed skin and downregulated the cutaneous immune response. The identification of a rare Treg subset co-expressing multiple immunosuppressive molecules and having tissue-remaining capacity offers a novel strategy for the control of skin inflammatory responses.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Omid Zargari Samani
2018-05-01
Full Text Available Type 1 diabetes is a multi-factorial disease that can develop due to the combination of genetic and environmental factors. Viruses, particularly enteroviruses, are major environmental candidates in the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes, even though the mechanisms of pathogenicity of these viruses and their effects on the immune system have not been understood very well yet. Previous studies show that any imbalance in the population of different lymphocyte subsets could develop autoimmune diseases. Our theory is that enteroviral infection causes an impairment in the distribution of lymphocyte subtypes and consequently results in the diabetes onset in some individuals. Therefore, in this project, we evaluated the distribution of T CD8+ lymphocytes and their subsets in type 1 diabetes patients. This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between enteroviral infection and type 1 diabetes mellitus in an Iranian population, and suggestion a predicting approach for susceptible subjects. Keywords: Type 1 diabetes mellitus, Enterovirus, CD8+T, Flow cytometry, GAD65
Random broadcast on random geometric graphs
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Bradonjic, Milan [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Elsasser, Robert [UNIV OF PADERBORN; Friedrich, Tobias [ICSI/BERKELEY; Sauerwald, Tomas [ICSI/BERKELEY
2009-01-01
In this work, we consider the random broadcast time on random geometric graphs (RGGs). The classic random broadcast model, also known as push algorithm, is defined as: starting with one informed node, in each succeeding round every informed node chooses one of its neighbors uniformly at random and informs it. We consider the random broadcast time on RGGs, when with high probability: (i) RGG is connected, (ii) when there exists the giant component in RGG. We show that the random broadcast time is bounded by {Omicron}({radical} n + diam(component)), where diam(component) is a diameter of the entire graph, or the giant component, for the regimes (i), or (ii), respectively. In other words, for both regimes, we derive the broadcast time to be {Theta}(diam(G)), which is asymptotically optimal.
Mori, K
1986-02-19
To examine differential carbohydrate expression among different subsets of primary afferent fibers, several fluorescein-isothiocyanate conjugated lectins were used in a histochemical study of the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) and spinal cord of the rabbit. The lectin Ulex europaeus agglutinin I specifically labeled a subset of DRG cells and primary afferent fibers which projected to the superficial laminae of the dorsal horn. These results suggest that specific carbohydrates containing L-fucosyl residue is expressed selectively in small diameter primary afferent fibers which subserve nociception or thermoception.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Zheng, Xiaodan; Guo, Yuqi; Wang, Lei; Zhang, Honghai; Wang, Shaobo; Wang, Li; An, Lei; Zhou, Xianbin; Li, Xia; Yao, Chengfang
2015-01-01
Purpose: Inefficient T-cell reconstitution from x-ray–induced immune damage reduces antitumor response. To understand the profile of T-cell reconstitution after irradiation will overcome the barrier of antitumor immunity. This study aimed to identify the recovery profile of T-cell subsets following x-ray irradiation and to highlight the role of cinnamon on efficient T-cell restoration postexposure in the antitumor response. Methods and Materials: CD3"+, CD8"+, and CD4"+ T cells and Th1, Th2, Th17, and regulatory T (Treg) cells were evaluated at different time points after single low-dose total body irradiation (SLTBI) with or without cinnamon treatments. T-bet, GATA3, RORγt, and Foxp3 signaling specific for Th1, Th2, Th17, and Treg were also analyzed by RT-PCR assay. The effects of cinnamon on efficient T-cell subset reconstitution was confirmed in a lung melanoma model in irradiated mice. Results: Reconstitution of CD4"+ T cells was delayed more than that of CD8"+ T cells in T-cell restoration after SLTBI. The production of IFNγ by Th1 or Tc1 cells was sharply decreased and was accompanied by reduced T-bet mRNA, even when total T-cell numbers had recovered; the frequencies of Th17 and Treg cells and their specific transcription factors (RORγt and Foxp3, respectively) were obviously increased. Irradiation-induced inefficient T-cell reconstitution impaired the antitumor capacities in the lung melanoma model. Pretreatment with cinnamon in irradiated mice accelerated the generation of Th1 and reduced the differentiation of Treg cells by activating T-bet and limiting transcriptions of Foxp3. Improvement resulting from cinnamon pretreatment on the efficient T-cell recovery profile from SLTBI promoted antitumor immunity in the lung melanoma model. Conclusions: T-cell reconstitution from SLTBI was characterized by impaired Th1 and elevated Th17 and Treg cells. Cinnamon effectively improved the imbalance of T-cell subsets by promoting the proliferation of Th1 and
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Zheng, Xiaodan [Key Laboratory for Tumor Immunology and Traditional Chinese Medicine Immunology, Institute of Basic Medicine, Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan (China); School of Medicine and Life Science, University of Jinan-Shandong Academy of Medical Science, Jinan (China); Guo, Yuqi [Key Laboratory for Tumor Immunology and Traditional Chinese Medicine Immunology, Institute of Basic Medicine, Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan (China); Wang, Lei [Second Affiliated Hospital of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan (China); Zhang, Honghai [Key Laboratory for Tumor Immunology and Traditional Chinese Medicine Immunology, Institute of Basic Medicine, Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan (China); Wang, Shaobo [Shandong University, Jinan (China); Wang, Li [Key Laboratory for Tumor Immunology and Traditional Chinese Medicine Immunology, Institute of Basic Medicine, Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan (China); An, Lei [Key Laboratory for Tumor Immunology and Traditional Chinese Medicine Immunology, Institute of Basic Medicine, Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan (China); School of Medicine and Life Science, University of Jinan-Shandong Academy of Medical Science, Jinan (China); Zhou, Xianbin; Li, Xia [Key Laboratory for Tumor Immunology and Traditional Chinese Medicine Immunology, Institute of Basic Medicine, Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan (China); Yao, Chengfang, E-mail: yaocf9941@163.com [Key Laboratory for Tumor Immunology and Traditional Chinese Medicine Immunology, Institute of Basic Medicine, Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan (China)
2015-12-01
Purpose: Inefficient T-cell reconstitution from x-ray–induced immune damage reduces antitumor response. To understand the profile of T-cell reconstitution after irradiation will overcome the barrier of antitumor immunity. This study aimed to identify the recovery profile of T-cell subsets following x-ray irradiation and to highlight the role of cinnamon on efficient T-cell restoration postexposure in the antitumor response. Methods and Materials: CD3{sup +}, CD8{sup +}, and CD4{sup +} T cells and Th1, Th2, Th17, and regulatory T (Treg) cells were evaluated at different time points after single low-dose total body irradiation (SLTBI) with or without cinnamon treatments. T-bet, GATA3, RORγt, and Foxp3 signaling specific for Th1, Th2, Th17, and Treg were also analyzed by RT-PCR assay. The effects of cinnamon on efficient T-cell subset reconstitution was confirmed in a lung melanoma model in irradiated mice. Results: Reconstitution of CD4{sup +} T cells was delayed more than that of CD8{sup +} T cells in T-cell restoration after SLTBI. The production of IFNγ by Th1 or Tc1 cells was sharply decreased and was accompanied by reduced T-bet mRNA, even when total T-cell numbers had recovered; the frequencies of Th17 and Treg cells and their specific transcription factors (RORγt and Foxp3, respectively) were obviously increased. Irradiation-induced inefficient T-cell reconstitution impaired the antitumor capacities in the lung melanoma model. Pretreatment with cinnamon in irradiated mice accelerated the generation of Th1 and reduced the differentiation of Treg cells by activating T-bet and limiting transcriptions of Foxp3. Improvement resulting from cinnamon pretreatment on the efficient T-cell recovery profile from SLTBI promoted antitumor immunity in the lung melanoma model. Conclusions: T-cell reconstitution from SLTBI was characterized by impaired Th1 and elevated Th17 and Treg cells. Cinnamon effectively improved the imbalance of T-cell subsets by promoting the
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Colón-Martinez Sol
2001-10-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background T cells from HIV+ and aged individuals show parallels in terms of suppressed proliferative activity and interleukin-2 (I1-2 production and an increased number of CD8+ CD28- T cells. In order to compare cytokine production from T cells from these two states, CD4+ and CD8+ T cells from HIV+ aged, and normal young donors (controls were monitored for cytokine production by flow cytometry, quantitative PCR and ELISA upon activation by PMA and anti-CD3. In addition, the CD8+ T cell subsets CD28+ and CD28- from the HIV+ and the aged groups were evaluated for cytokine production by flow cytometry, and compared with those from young controls. Results Flow cytometric analysis indicated that CD8+ T cells from both HIV+ and aged donors showed an increase of approximately 2–3 fold over controls in percentage of cells producing inflammatory cytokines IFN-γ and TNF-α. Similar analysis also revealed that the production of interleukins-4,6 and 10, production was very low (1–2% of cells and unchanged in these cells. Quantitative PCR also showed a substantial increase (4–5 fold in IFN-γ and TNF-α mRNA from HIV+ and aged CD8+ T cells, as did ELISA for secreted IFN-γ and TNF-α (2.3–4 fold. Flow cytometric analysis showed that the CD8+ CD28- T cell subset accounts for approximately 80–86% of the IFN-γ and TNF-α production from the CD8+ subset in the aged and HIV+ states. The CD4+ T cell, while not significantly changed in the HIV+ or aged states in terms of IFN-γ production, showed a small but significant increase in TNF-α production in both states. Conclusions Our data appear compatible with physiologic conditions existing in HIV+ and aged individuals, i.e. elevated serum levels and elevated CD8+ T cell production of IFN-γ and TNF-α. Thus, the capacity for increased production of cytokines IFN-γ and TNF-α in the aged individual by the dominant CD8+ CD28- subset may have a profound influence on the clinical state by
Infinite hidden conditional random fields for human behavior analysis.
Bousmalis, Konstantinos; Zafeiriou, Stefanos; Morency, Louis-Philippe; Pantic, Maja
2013-01-01
Hidden conditional random fields (HCRFs) are discriminative latent variable models that have been shown to successfully learn the hidden structure of a given classification problem (provided an appropriate validation of the number of hidden states). In this brief, we present the infinite HCRF (iHCRF), which is a nonparametric model based on hierarchical Dirichlet processes and is capable of automatically learning the optimal number of hidden states for a classification task. We show how we learn the model hyperparameters with an effective Markov-chain Monte Carlo sampling technique, and we explain the process that underlines our iHCRF model with the Restaurant Franchise Rating Agencies analogy. We show that the iHCRF is able to converge to a correct number of represented hidden states, and outperforms the best finite HCRFs--chosen via cross-validation--for the difficult tasks of recognizing instances of agreement, disagreement, and pain. Moreover, the iHCRF manages to achieve this performance in significantly less total training, validation, and testing time.
Evaluation of stability of k-means cluster ensembles with respect to random initialization.
Kuncheva, Ludmila I; Vetrov, Dmitry P
2006-11-01
Many clustering algorithms, including cluster ensembles, rely on a random component. Stability of the results across different runs is considered to be an asset of the algorithm. The cluster ensembles considered here are based on k-means clusterers. Each clusterer is assigned a random target number of clusters, k and is started from a random initialization. Here, we use 10 artificial and 10 real data sets to study ensemble stability with respect to random k, and random initialization. The data sets were chosen to have a small number of clusters (two to seven) and a moderate number of data points (up to a few hundred). Pairwise stability is defined as the adjusted Rand index between pairs of clusterers in the ensemble, averaged across all pairs. Nonpairwise stability is defined as the entropy of the consensus matrix of the ensemble. An experimental comparison with the stability of the standard k-means algorithm was carried out for k from 2 to 20. The results revealed that ensembles are generally more stable, markedly so for larger k. To establish whether stability can serve as a cluster validity index, we first looked at the relationship between stability and accuracy with respect to the number of clusters, k. We found that such a relationship strongly depends on the data set, varying from almost perfect positive correlation (0.97, for the glass data) to almost perfect negative correlation (-0.93, for the crabs data). We propose a new combined stability index to be the sum of the pairwise individual and ensemble stabilities. This index was found to correlate better with the ensemble accuracy. Following the hypothesis that a point of stability of a clustering algorithm corresponds to a structure found in the data, we used the stability measures to pick the number of clusters. The combined stability index gave best results.
Topics in random walks in random environment
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Sznitman, A.-S.
2004-01-01
Over the last twenty-five years random motions in random media have been intensively investigated and some new general methods and paradigms have by now emerged. Random walks in random environment constitute one of the canonical models of the field. However in dimension bigger than one they are still poorly understood and many of the basic issues remain to this day unresolved. The present series of lectures attempt to give an account of the progresses which have been made over the last few years, especially in the study of multi-dimensional random walks in random environment with ballistic behavior. (author)
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Massimo Giuliani
Full Text Available BACKGROUND: NK cells have been long time considered as cytotoxic lymphocytes competent in killing virus-infected cells and tumors. However, NK cells may also play essential immuno-regulatory functions. In this context, the real existence of a defined NK subset with negative regulatory properties has been hypothesized but never clearly demonstrated. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Herein, we show the in vitro generation from human peripheral blood haematopoietic progenitors (PB-HP, of a novel subset of non-cytolytic NK cells displaying a mature phenotype and remarkable immuno-regulatory functions (NK-ireg. The main functional hallmark of these NK-ireg cells is represented by the surface expression/release of HLA-G, a major immunosuppressive molecule. In addition, NK-ireg cells secrete two powerful immuno-regulatory factors: IL-10 and IL-21. Through these factors, NK-ireg cells act as effectors of the down-regulation of the immune response: reconverting mature myeloid DC (mDC into immature/tolerogenic DC, blocking cytolytic functions on conventional NK cells and inducing HLA-G membrane expression on PB-derived monocytes. The generation of "NK-ireg" cells is obtained, by default, in culture conditions favouring cell-to-cell contacts, and it is strictly dependent on reciprocal trans-presentation of membrane-bound IL-15 forms constitutively and selectively expressed by human CD34(+ PB-HP. Finally, a small subset of NKp46(+ HLA-G(+ IL-10(+ is detected within freshly isolated decidual NK cells, suggesting that these cells could represent an in vivo counterpart of the NK-ireg cells. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: In conclusion, NK-ireg cells represent a novel truly differentiated non-cytolytic NK subset with a self-sustainable phenotype (CD56(+ CD16(+ NKp30(+ NKp44(+ NKp46(+ CD94(+ CD69(+ CCR7(+ generated from specific pSTAT6(+ GATA3(+ precursors. NK-ireg cells could be employed to develop new immuno-suppressive strategies in autoimmune diseases, transplant
Analysis of double random phase encryption from a key-space perspective
Monaghan, David S.; Situ, Guohai; Ryle, James; Gopinathan, Unnikrishnan; Naughton, Thomas J.; Sheridan, John T.
2007-09-01
The main advantage of the double random phase encryption technique is its physical implementation however to allow us to analyse its behaviour we perform the encryption/decryption numerically. A typically strong encryption scheme will have an extremely large key-space, which will make the probable success of any brute force attack on that algorithm miniscule. Traditionally, designers of optical image encryption systems only demonstrate how a small number of arbitrary keys cannot decrypt a chosen encrypted image in their system. We analyse this algorithm from a key-space perspective. The key-space of an encryption algorithm can be defined as the set of possible keys that can be used to encode data using that algorithm. For a range of problem instances we plot the distribution of decryption errors in the key-space indicating the lack of feasibility of a simple brute force attack.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Lauren M. Lepone
2016-03-01
Full Text Available Recent advances in human immunology have led to the identification of novel immune cell subsets and the biological function of many of these subsets has now been identified. The recent US Food and Drug Administration approval of several immunotherapeutics for the treatment of a variety of cancer types and the results of ongoing immunotherapy clinical studies requires a more thorough interrogation of the immune system. We report here the use of flow cytometry-based analyses to identify 123 immune cell subsets of peripheral blood mononuclear cells. The use of these panels defines multiple differences in younger (< 40 years vs. older (≥ 40 years individuals and between aged-matched apparently healthy individuals and metastatic cancer patients, aspects not seen in the analysis of the following standard immune cell types: CD8, CD4, natural killer, natural killer-T, regulatory T, myeloid derived suppressor cells, conventional dendritic cells (DCs, plasmacytoid DCs and B cells. The use of these panels identifying 123 immune cell subsets may aid in the identification of patients who may benefit from immunotherapy, either prior to therapy or early in the immunotherapeutic regimen, for the treatment of cancer or other chronic or infectious diseases.
Tabu search for the redundancy allocation problem of homogenous series-parallel multi-state systems
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Ouzineb, Mohamed; Nourelfath, Mustapha; Gendreau, Michel
2008-01-01
This paper develops an efficient tabu search (TS) heuristic to solve the redundancy allocation problem for multi-state series-parallel systems. The system has a range of performance levels from perfect functioning to complete failure. Identical redundant elements are included in order to achieve a desirable level of availability. The elements of the system are characterized by their cost, performance and availability. These elements are chosen from a list of products available in the market. System availability is defined as the ability to satisfy consumer demand, which is represented as a piecewise cumulative load curve. A universal generating function technique is applied to evaluate system availability. The proposed TS heuristic determines the minimal cost system configuration under availability constraints. An originality of our approach is that it proceeds by dividing the search space into a set of disjoint subsets, and then by applying TS to each subset. The design problem, solved in this study, has been previously analyzed using genetic algorithms (GAs). Numerical results for the test problems from previous research are reported, and larger test problems are randomly generated. Comparisons show that the proposed TS out-performs GA solutions, in terms of both the solution quality and the execution time
Meijer, K; van der Meer, J; Smit, JW; Verspiek, SPJ; Haagsma, EB; Smid, WM
Several abnormalities of immune parameters have been described in HIV-negative haemophiliacs, including changes in numbers of T4 and T8 cells, T4/T8 ratio and numbers of activated T cells, To assess the contribution of hepatitis C to these abnormalities, we compared lymphocyte subsets in 20
Norajitra, Tobias; Meinzer, Hans-Peter; Maier-Hein, Klaus H.
2015-03-01
During image segmentation, 3D Statistical Shape Models (SSM) usually conduct a limited search for target landmarks within one-dimensional search profiles perpendicular to the model surface. In addition, landmark appearance is modeled only locally based on linear profiles and weak learners, altogether leading to segmentation errors from landmark ambiguities and limited search coverage. We present a new method for 3D SSM segmentation based on 3D Random Forest Regression Voting. For each surface landmark, a Random Regression Forest is trained that learns a 3D spatial displacement function between the according reference landmark and a set of surrounding sample points, based on an infinite set of non-local randomized 3D Haar-like features. Landmark search is then conducted omni-directionally within 3D search spaces, where voxelwise forest predictions on landmark position contribute to a common voting map which reflects the overall position estimate. Segmentation experiments were conducted on a set of 45 CT volumes of the human liver, of which 40 images were randomly chosen for training and 5 for testing. Without parameter optimization, using a simple candidate selection and a single resolution approach, excellent results were achieved, while faster convergence and better concavity segmentation were observed, altogether underlining the potential of our approach in terms of increased robustness from distinct landmark detection and from better search coverage.
Chang, W L William; Gonzalez, Denise F; Kieu, Hung T; Castillo, Luis D; Messaoudi, Ilhem; Shen, Xiaoying; Tomaras, Georgia D; Shacklett, Barbara L; Barry, Peter A; Sparger, Ellen E
2017-01-01
Aging and certain viral infections can negatively impact humoral responses in humans. To further develop the nonhuman primate (NHP) model for investigating B cell dynamics in human aging and infectious disease, a flow cytometric panel was developed to characterize circulating rhesus B cell subsets. Significant differences between human and macaque B cells included the proportions of cells within IgD+ and switched memory populations and a prominent CD21-CD27+ unswitched memory population detected only in macaques. We then utilized the expanded panel to analyze B cell alterations associated with aging and acute simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection in the NHP model. In the aging study, distinct patterns of B cell subset frequencies were observed for macaques aged one to five years compared to those between ages 5 and 30 years. In the SIV infection study, B cell frequencies and absolute number were dramatically reduced following acute infection, but recovered within four weeks of infection. Thereafter, the frequencies of activated memory B cells progressively increased; these were significantly correlated with the magnitude of SIV-specific IgG responses, and coincided with impaired maturation of anti-SIV antibody avidity, as previously reported for HIV-1 infection. These observations further validate the NHP model for investigation of mechanisms responsible for B cells alterations associated with immunosenescence and infectious disease.
Different subsets of natural killer T cells may vary in their roles in health and disease
Kumar, Vipin; Delovitch, Terry L
2014-01-01
Natural killer T cells (NKT) can regulate innate and adaptive immune responses. Type I and type II NKT cell subsets recognize different lipid antigens presented by CD1d, an MHC class-I-like molecule. Most type I NKT cells express a semi-invariant T-cell receptor (TCR), but a major subset of type II NKT cells reactive to a self antigen sulphatide use an oligoclonal TCR. Whereas TCR-α dominates CD1d-lipid recognition by type I NKT cells, TCR-α and TCR-β contribute equally to CD1d-lipid recognition by type II NKT cells. These variable modes of NKT cell recognition of lipid–CD1d complexes activate a host of cytokine-dependent responses that can either exacerbate or protect from disease. Recent studies of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases have led to a hypothesis that: (i) although type I NKT cells can promote pathogenic and regulatory responses, they are more frequently pathogenic, and (ii) type II NKT cells are predominantly inhibitory and protective from such responses and diseases. This review focuses on a further test of this hypothesis by the use of recently developed techniques, intravital imaging and mass cytometry, to analyse the molecular and cellular dynamics of type I and type II NKT cell antigen-presenting cell motility, interaction, activation and immunoregulation that promote immune responses leading to health versus disease outcomes. PMID:24428389
Linear embeddings of finite-dimensional subsets of Banach spaces into Euclidean spaces
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Robinson, James C
2009-01-01
This paper treats the embedding of finite-dimensional subsets of a Banach space B into finite-dimensional Euclidean spaces. When the Hausdorff dimension of X − X is finite, d H (X − X) k are injective on X. The proof motivates the definition of the 'dual thickness exponent', which is the key to proving that a prevalent set of such linear maps have Hölder continuous inverse when the box-counting dimension of X is finite and k > 2d B (X). A related argument shows that if the Assouad dimension of X − X is finite and k > d A (X − X), a prevalent set of such maps are bi-Lipschitz with logarithmic corrections. This provides a new result for compact homogeneous metric spaces via the Kuratowksi embedding of (X, d) into L ∞ (X)
ADDRESS SEQUENCES FOR MULTI RUN RAM TESTING
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
V. N. Yarmolik
2014-01-01
Full Text Available A universal approach for generation of address sequences with specified properties is proposed and analyzed. A modified version of the Antonov and Saleev algorithm for Sobol sequences genera-tion is chosen as a mathematical description of the proposed method. Within the framework of the proposed universal approach, the Sobol sequences form a subset of the address sequences. Other sub-sets are also formed, which are Gray sequences, anti-Gray sequences, counter sequences and sequenc-es with specified properties.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Rymešová, Pavla
2010-12-01
Full Text Available The article is focused on professional orientation and direction of the careers of graduates of Faculty of Economics and Management (FEM and Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources (FAFNR at Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CULS. The general information and theoretical part is devoted to the topic of career, its concept and definition, and it deals with chosen determinants of career orientation and career development. The concept of career is considered within the sphere of specialized terminology mainly used in humanities disciplines, it defines subjective and objective career. Moreover, the concepts of life developmental tasks and career maturity are being mapped. The existence of typical stages of development is also discussed, for which there are typical qualitative differences on the level of information, in relation to a given profession and in motivation towards the profession (with regard to the stage that includes university studies. Significant influence of objective and situational factors, which interfere with career orientation and the choice of a profession, is further included. A look at a person’s personality with respect to the determinants of career orientation and career development also forms a part of the general information part. In its first part of the empirical section, the article is focused on the concept and definition of career from the beginning of the 1990s. This includes the views of Czech as well as foreign authors. In the second part, the article tries to present practical consequences of students’ career orientation and it deals with processing an estimate whether the observed faculties’ graduates remain working in the field related to what they studied within five years from graduation. A part of the study is also formed by a description of the main motives leading to choosing a profession during university studies. The chosen attributes were monitored among a selected group of
[Intel random number generator-based true random number generator].
Huang, Feng; Shen, Hong
2004-09-01
To establish a true random number generator on the basis of certain Intel chips. The random numbers were acquired by programming using Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0 via register reading from the random number generator (RNG) unit of an Intel 815 chipset-based computer with Intel Security Driver (ISD). We tested the generator with 500 random numbers in NIST FIPS 140-1 and X(2) R-Squared test, and the result showed that the random number it generated satisfied the demand of independence and uniform distribution. We also compared the random numbers generated by Intel RNG-based true random number generator and those from the random number table statistically, by using the same amount of 7500 random numbers in the same value domain, which showed that the SD, SE and CV of Intel RNG-based random number generator were less than those of the random number table. The result of u test of two CVs revealed no significant difference between the two methods. Intel RNG-based random number generator can produce high-quality random numbers with good independence and uniform distribution, and solves some problems with random number table in acquisition of the random numbers.
Edgington, Eugene
2007-01-01
Statistical Tests That Do Not Require Random Sampling Randomization Tests Numerical Examples Randomization Tests and Nonrandom Samples The Prevalence of Nonrandom Samples in Experiments The Irrelevance of Random Samples for the Typical Experiment Generalizing from Nonrandom Samples Intelligibility Respect for the Validity of Randomization Tests Versatility Practicality Precursors of Randomization Tests Other Applications of Permutation Tests Questions and Exercises Notes References Randomized Experiments Unique Benefits of Experiments Experimentation without Mani
Lymphocyte subsets and response to PHA among atomic bomb survivors
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Nakao, Susumu; Noguchi, Kyouichi; Eida, Kazuyuki; Tashiro, Kazunori; Hayashida, Ken
1986-01-01
In an effort to elucidate the effect of radiation exposure on immune competence in man, the number of lymphocytes, lymphocyte subsets, and the percentage of phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-induced transformation of lymphocytes were determined in 66 cancer patients, 25 of whom were exposed to atomic radiation at ≤ 2,000 m from ground zero and 41 others were not exposed. The number of lymphocytes was decreased with increasing age at exposure. The percentage of OKT3-positive cells tended to be lower in exposed patients who were in their twenties at the time of exposure than the non-exposed patients. Among patients in their teens and twenties at the time of exposure, there was a tendency toward decreased percentage of OKT4-positive cells (T4) and increased percentage of OKT8-positive cells (T8). The T4/T8 ratio was reduced. Patients who were in their first decade of life at the time of exposure tended to have decreased OKIa 1-positive cells, and increased Leulla-positive cells. Patients exposed in their twenties and thirties had slightly decreased percentage of PHA-induced transformation of lymphocytes. (Namekawa, K.)
The mean squared writhe of alternating random knot diagrams
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Diao, Y; Hinson, K [Department of Mathematics and Statistics University of North Carolina at Charlotte, NC 28223 (United States); Ernst, C; Ziegler, U, E-mail: ydiao@uncc.ed [Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY 42101 (United States)
2010-12-10
The writhe of a knot diagram is a simple geometric measure of the complexity of the knot diagram. It plays an important role not only in knot theory itself, but also in various applications of knot theory to fields such as molecular biology and polymer physics. The mean squared writhe of any sample of knot diagrams with n crossings is n when for each diagram at each crossing one of the two strands is chosen as the overpass at random with probability one-half. However, such a diagram is usually not minimal. If we restrict ourselves to a minimal knot diagram, then the choice of which strand is the over- or under-strand at each crossing is no longer independent of the neighboring crossings and a larger mean squared writhe is expected for minimal diagrams. This paper explores the effect on the correlation between the mean squared writhe and the diagrams imposed by the condition that diagrams are minimal by studying the writhe of classes of reduced, alternating knot diagrams. We demonstrate that the behavior of the mean squared writhe heavily depends on the underlying space of diagram templates. In particular this is true when the sample space contains only diagrams of a special structure. When the sample space is large enough to contain not only diagrams of a special type, then the mean squared writhe for n crossing diagrams tends to grow linearly with n, but at a faster rate than n, indicating an intrinsic property of alternating knot diagrams. Studying the mean squared writhe of alternating random knot diagrams also provides some insight into the properties of the diagram generating methods used, which is an important area of study in the applications of random knot theory.
Laurent Guiraud
1998-01-01
Following an international meeting of secondary school pupils on the theme of "Future Scientists: Women and Men" in Paris on 23 and 24 April. The aim of this meeting, which was organised by UNESCO, was to encourage young people, and girls in particular, to choose scientific studies and careers. Twenty-eight young scientists chosen to represent their respective countries visited the CERN site this week following an international meeting of secondary school pupils on the theme of "Future Scientists: Women and Men" in Paris on 23 and 24 April. The aim of this meeting, which was organised by UNESCO, was to encourage young people, and girls in particular, to choose scientific studies and careers.
The ArfGAP2/3 Glo3 and ergosterol collaborate in transport of a subset of cargoes
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Alejandro F. Estrada
2015-07-01
Full Text Available Proteins reach the plasma membrane through the secretory pathway in which the trans Golgi network (TGN acts as a sorting station. Transport from the TGN to the plasma membrane is maintained by a number of different pathways that act either directly or via the endosomal system. Here we show that a subset of cargoes depends on the ArfGAP2/3 Glo3 and ergosterol to maintain their proper localization at the plasma membrane. While interfering with neither ArfGAP2/3 activity nor ergosterol biosynthesis individually significantly altered plasma membrane localization of the tryptophan transporter Tat2, the general amino acid permease Gap1 and the v-SNARE Snc1, in a Δglo3 Δerg3 strain those proteins accumulated in internal endosomal structures. Export from the TGN to the plasma membrane and recycling from early endosomes appeared unaffected as the chitin synthase Chs3 that travels along these routes was localized normally. Our data indicate that a subset of proteins can reach the plasma membrane efficiently but after endocytosis becomes trapped in endosomal structures. Our study supports a role for ArfGAP2/3 in recycling from endosomes and in transport to the vacuole/lysosome.
Random Walk Particle Tracking For Multiphase Heat Transfer
Lattanzi, Aaron; Yin, Xiaolong; Hrenya, Christine
2017-11-01
As computing capabilities have advanced, direct numerical simulation (DNS) has become a highly effective tool for quantitatively predicting the heat transfer within multiphase flows. Here we utilize a hybrid DNS framework that couples the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) to the random walk particle tracking (RWPT) algorithm. The main challenge of such a hybrid is that discontinuous fields pose a significant challenge to the RWPT framework and special attention must be given to the handling of interfaces. We derive a method for addressing discontinuities in the diffusivity field, arising at the interface between two phases. Analytical means are utilized to develop an interfacial tracer balance and modify the RWPT algorithm. By expanding the modulus of the stochastic (diffusive) step and only allowing a subset of the tracers within the high diffusivity medium to undergo a diffusive step, the correct equilibrium state can be restored (globally homogeneous tracer distribution). The new RWPT algorithm is implemented within the SUSP3D code and verified against a variety of systems: effective diffusivity of a static gas-solids mixture, hot sphere in unbounded diffusion, cooling sphere in unbounded diffusion, and uniform flow past a hot sphere.
Chosen aspects of quality of life in patients with venous leg ulcers
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Michaela Miertová
2016-12-01
Full Text Available Aim: The aim of the paper was to describe chosen aspects of quality of life in patients with venous leg ulcers treated at home in the Turiec region, and to find differences in assessing quality of life in relation to degree of adherence to external compression therapy. Design: A quantitative cross-sectional study. Methods: There were 61 patients with venous leg ulcers at 68.59 ± 9.49 years of age, with an average length of wound treatment of 6.34 ± 5.51 years. The adapted self-assessment questionnaire, the Freiburg Life Quality Assessment wound module (FLQA-w, was used to gain empirical data. Results: The findings revealed that the worst score was achieved in the category of everyday life (3.61 ± 0.93. Statistically significant differences were found between the group of respondents who apply bandages on a daily basis and those who did not use them at all. Regular bandage application is closely connected with positive assessment of wound therapy (p = 0.043, psychosocial life (p = 0.023, verbalisation of well-being in various categories (p = 0.001, assessment of state of the wound (p = 0.032, assessment of health condition (p = 0.019, and overall quality of life (p = 0.014. Length of wound treatment is related to assessments of quality of life. Conclusion: Non-healing wounds, the associated therapy and financial means required to treat them, and the pain resulting from them, are connected with physical difficulty, experience of negative emotions, and, thus, the worsening of patientsʼ quality of life. The results of the study could form the basis for further studies on similar issues.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Criscione John C
2008-01-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background Much of the experimental work in soft tissue mechanics has been focused on fitting approximate relations for specific tissue types from aggregate data on multiple samples of the tissue. Such relations are needed for modeling applications and have reasonable predictability – especially given the natural variance in specimens. There is, however, much theoretical and experimental work to be done in determining constitutive behaviors for particular specimens and tissues. In so doing, it may be possible to exploit the natural variation in tissue ultrastructure – so to relate ultrastructure composition to tissue behavior. Thus, this study focuses on an experimental method for determining constitutive behaviors and illustrates the method with analysis of a porcine pulmonary artery strip. The method characterizes the elastic part of the response (implicitly in terms of stretch and the inelastic part in terms of short term stretch history (i.e., stretch-rate Ht2, longer term stretch history Ht1, and time since the start of testing T. Methods A uniaxial testing protocol with a random stretch and random stretch-rate was developed. The average stress at a particular stretch was chosen as the hyperelastic stress response, and deviation from the mean at this particular stretch is chosen as the inelastic deviation. Multivariable Linear Regression Analysis (MLRA was utilized to verify if Ht2, Ht1, and T are important factors for characterizing the inelastic deviation. For acquiring Ht2 and Ht1, an integral function type of stretch history was employed with time constants chosen from the relaxation spectrum of an identical size strip from the same tissue with the same orientation. Finally, statistical models that characterize the inelasticity were developed at various, nominal values of stretch, and their predictive capability was examined. Results Inelastic deviation from hyperelasticity was high (31% for low stretch and declined
Sava, Florentina; Toldi, Gergely; Treszl, András; Hajdú, Júlia; Harmath, Ágnes; Rigó, János; Tulassay, Tivadar; Vásárhelyi, Barna
2017-06-01
To address the hypothesis that pre-eclampsia (PE) impacts the fetal immune system, we investigated the prevalence of distinct immune cell subsets along with plasma cortisol and cytokine levels in pre-term newborns of PE mothers. Cord blood and peripheral blood samples on the 1st, 3rd and 7th postnatal days of life were collected from 14 pre-term infants affected by PE and 14 non-PE pregnancies. We measured plasma cortisol and cytokine levels with immunoassays and assessed the prevalence of T, NK and DC subsets using flow cytometry. The prevalence of CD4+ cells was lower in PE infants, while that of memory T cells was higher. Myeloid DCs had a lower prevalence in PE neonates. Cytokine and cortisol levels were lower in PE neonates. Our observations show that PE pregnancies are associated with altered newborn immune status during the first week of life. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Engelmann, Péter; Hayashi, Yuya; Bodó, Kornélia; Ernszt, Dávid; Somogyi, Ildikó; Steib, Anita; Orbán, József; Pollák, Edit; Nyitrai, Miklós; Németh, Péter; Molnár, László
2016-12-01
Flow cytometry is a common approach to study invertebrate immune cells including earthworm coelomocytes. However, the link between light-scatter- and microscopy-based phenotyping remains obscured. Here we show, by means of light scatter-based cell sorting, both subpopulations (amoebocytes and eleocytes) can be physically isolated with good sort efficiency and purity confirmed by downstream morphological and cytochemical applications. Immunocytochemical analysis using anti-EFCC monoclonal antibodies combined with phalloidin staining has revealed antigenically distinct, sorted subsets. Screening of lectin binding capacity indicated wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) as the strongest reactor to amoebocytes. This is further evidenced by WGA inhibition assays that suggest high abundance of N-acetyl-d-glucosamine in amoebocytes. Post-sort phagocytosis assays confirmed the functional differences between amoebocytes and eleocytes, with the former being in favor of bacterial engulfment. This study has proved successful in linking flow cytometry and microscopy analysis and provides further experimental evidence of phenotypic and functional heterogeneity in earthworm coelomocyte subsets. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
NKp46 identifies an NKT cell subset susceptible to leukemic transformation in mouse and human
Yu, Jianhua; Mitsui, Takeki; Wei, Min; Mao, Hsiaoyin; Butchar, Jonathan P.; Shah, Mithun Vinod; Zhang, Jianying; Mishra, Anjali; Alvarez-Breckenridge, Christopher; Liu, Xingluo; Liu, Shujun; Yokohama, Akihiko; Trotta, Rossana; Marcucci, Guido; Benson, Don M.; Loughran, Thomas P.; Tridandapani, Susheela; Caligiuri, Michael A.
2011-01-01
IL-15 may have a role in the development of T cell large granular lymphocyte (T-LGL) or NKT leukemias. However, the mechanisms of action and the identity of the cell subset that undergoes leukemic transformation remain elusive. Here we show that in both mice and humans, NKp46 expression marks a minute population of WT NKT cells with higher activity and potency to become leukemic. Virtually 100% of T-LGL leukemias in IL-15 transgenic mice expressed NKp46, as did a majority of human T-LGL leukemias. The minute NKp46+ NKT population, but not the NKp46– NKT population, was selectively expanded by overexpression of endogenous IL-15. Importantly, IL-15 transgenic NKp46– NKT cells did not become NKp46+ in vivo, suggesting that NKp46+ T-LGL leukemia cells were the malignant counterpart of the minute WT NKp46+ NKT population. Mechanistically, NKp46+ NKT cells possessed higher responsiveness to IL-15 in vitro and in vivo compared with that of their NKp46– NKT counterparts. Furthermore, interruption of IL-15 signaling using a neutralizing antibody could prevent LGL leukemia in IL-15 transgenic mice. Collectively, our data demonstrate that NKp46 identifies a functionally distinct NKT subset in mice and humans that appears to be directly susceptible to leukemic transformation when IL-15 is overexpressed. Thus, IL-15 signaling and NKp46 may be useful targets in the treatment of patients with T-LGL or NKT leukemia. PMID:21364281
B.M. Laksono (Brigitta); C. Grosserichter-Wagener (Christina); R.D. de Vries (Rory); Langeveld, S.A.G. (Simone A.G.); M.D. Brem (Maarten); J.J.M. van Dongen (Jacques); Katsikis, P.D. (Peter D.); M.P.G. Koopmans D.V.M. (Marion); M.C. van Zelm (Menno); R.L. de Swart (Rik)
2018-01-01
textabstractMeasles is characterized by a transient immune suppression, leading to an increased risk of opportunistic infections. Measles virus (MV) infection of immune cells is mediated by the cellular receptor CD150, expressed by subsets of lymphocytes, dendritic cells, macrophages, and
Malosetti, M.; Abadie, T.
2001-01-01
Core collections were suggested to improve germplasm utilization. A core collection is a subset chosen to represent the diversity of a collection with a minimum of redundancies. Because diversity is distributed between and within groups with different degrees of organization, an adequate
Insight into organic reactions from the direct random phase approximation and its corrections
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Ruzsinszky, Adrienn [Department of Physics, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122 (United States); Zhang, Igor Ying; Scheffler, Matthias [Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Faradayweg 4-6, 14195 Berlin (Germany)
2015-10-14
The performance of the random phase approximation (RPA) and beyond-RPA approximations for the treatment of electron correlation is benchmarked on three different molecular test sets. The test sets are chosen to represent three typical sources of error which can contribute to the failure of most density functional approximations in chemical reactions. The first test set (atomization and n-homodesmotic reactions) offers a gradually increasing balance of error from the chemical environment. The second test set (Diels-Alder reaction cycloaddition = DARC) reflects more the effect of weak dispersion interactions in chemical reactions. Finally, the third test set (self-interaction error 11 = SIE11) represents reactions which are exposed to noticeable self-interaction errors. This work seeks to answer whether any one of the many-body approximations considered here successfully addresses all these challenges.
Insight into organic reactions from the direct random phase approximation and its corrections
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Ruzsinszky, Adrienn; Zhang, Igor Ying; Scheffler, Matthias
2015-01-01
The performance of the random phase approximation (RPA) and beyond-RPA approximations for the treatment of electron correlation is benchmarked on three different molecular test sets. The test sets are chosen to represent three typical sources of error which can contribute to the failure of most density functional approximations in chemical reactions. The first test set (atomization and n-homodesmotic reactions) offers a gradually increasing balance of error from the chemical environment. The second test set (Diels-Alder reaction cycloaddition = DARC) reflects more the effect of weak dispersion interactions in chemical reactions. Finally, the third test set (self-interaction error 11 = SIE11) represents reactions which are exposed to noticeable self-interaction errors. This work seeks to answer whether any one of the many-body approximations considered here successfully addresses all these challenges
Reduction of the CD16(-CD56bright NK cell subset precedes NK cell dysfunction in prostate cancer.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Kyo Chul Koo
Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Natural cytotoxicity, mediated by natural killer (NK cells plays an important role in the inhibition and elimination of malignant tumor cells. To investigate the immunoregulatory role of NK cells and their potential as diagnostic markers, NK cell activity (NKA was analyzed in prostate cancer (PCa patients with particular focus on NK cell subset distribution. METHODS: Prospective data of NKA and NK cell subset distribution patterns were measured from 51 patients initially diagnosed with PCa and 54 healthy controls. NKA was represented by IFN-γ levels after stimulation of the peripheral blood with Promoca®. To determine the distribution of NK cell subsets, PBMCs were stained with fluorochrome-conjugated monoclonal antibodies. Then, CD16(+CD56(dim and CD16(-CD56(bright cells gated on CD56(+CD3(- cells were analyzed using a flow-cytometer. RESULTS: NKA and the proportion of CD56(bright cells were significantly lower in PCa patients compared to controls (430.9 pg/ml vs. 975.2 pg/ml and 2.3% vs. 3.8%, respectively; p<0.001. Both tended to gradually decrease according to cancer stage progression (p for trend = 0.001. A significantly higher CD56(dim-to-CD56(bright cell ratio was observed in PCa patients (41.8 vs. 30.3; p<0.001 along with a gradual increase according to cancer stage progression (p for trend = 0.001, implying a significant reduction of CD56(bright cells in relation to the alteration of CD56(dim cells. The sensitivity and the specificity of NKA regarding PCa detection were 72% and 74%, respectively (best cut-off value at 530.9 pg/ml, AUC = 0.786. CONCLUSIONS: Reduction of CD56(bright cells may precede NK cell dysfunction, leading to impaired cytotoxicity against PCa cells. These observations may explain one of the mechanisms behind NK cell dysfunction observed in PCa microenvironment and lend support to the development of future cancer immunotherapeutic strategies.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Kaushal Kishore Tiwari
2016-03-01
Full Text Available Background & Objectives: Mortality and morbidity from the complication of aortic aneurysm remain very high. Aortic size index, which classify thoracic aortic aneurysm patients in three risk groups for aortic rupture prediction. Recent data support that aortic wall remodeling is a dynamic process with active involvement of the chronic inflammation and immunological system. Aim of our study is to evaluate expression level of chemokine receptors known to be involved in the T-cells migration and to correlate them with aortic size index. Materials & Methods: Total 20 patients undergoing surgery for ascending aortic aneurysm and/or aortic valve surgery were enrolled. Aortic size index was calculated. Preoperatively blood samples collected. By flowcytometry and dual parameter dot plot technology percentage of positivity of CCR5 on these T-cell subsets were quantified. Results: Mean age of the patients was 67±5.93 years. Majority of patients had hypertension. Mean ascending aortic diameter was 42.1±8.14 mm. Mean Aortic size Index was 22.21±3.38 mm/m2. A statistical significance has observed between aortic size index and the expression of CCR5 on total CD4 positive T-cells (p-0.0949, and between aortic size index and CCR5 expression on the total CD3 positive T-cells (p-0.0293. Significant correlation observed between ASI and CCR5 expression on the CD8+/CD3+ T-cell subset (p-0.0183. Similarly, strong positive relationship between ASI and the expression of CCR5 on the cytotoxic CD28-/CD4+ T-cell subset (p-0.0055. Activated state of cytotoxic CD28-/CD4+ cell also correlated with aortic size index (p-0.0668.Conclusion: We conclude that T-cell mediated cytotoxic mechanism driven by CCR5 play an important role in the pathophysiology of the thoracic aortic aneurysm.JCMS Nepal. 2016;12(1:23-27.
de Jong, Tamarah D; Lübbers, Joyce; Turk, Samina; Vosslamber, Saskia; Mantel, Elise; Bontkes, Hetty J; van der Laken, Conny J; Bijlsma, Johannes W; van Schaardenburg, Dirkjan; Verweij, Cornelis L
2016-07-13
The type I interferon (IFN) signature in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has shown clinical relevance in relation to disease onset and therapeutic response. Identification of the cell type(s) contributing to this IFN signature could provide insight into the signature's functional consequences. The aim of this study was to investigate the contribution of peripheral leukocyte subsets to the IFN signature in early arthritis. Blood was collected from 26 patients with early arthritis and lysed directly or separated into peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and polymorphonuclear granulocytes (PMNs). PBMCs were sorted into CD4(+) T cells, CD8(+) T cells, CD19(+) B cells, and CD14(+) monocytes by flow cytometry. Messenger RNA expression of three interferon response genes (IRGs RSAD2, IFI44L, and MX1) and type I interferon receptors (IFNAR1 and IFNAR2) was determined in whole blood and blood cell subsets by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. IRG expression was averaged to calculate an IFN score for each sample. Patients were designated "IFN(high)" (n = 8) or "IFN(low)" (n = 18) on the basis of an IFN score cutoff in whole peripheral blood from healthy control subjects. The difference in IFN score between IFN(high) and IFN(low) patients was remarkably large for the PMN fraction (mean 25-fold) compared with the other subsets (mean 6- to 9-fold), indicating that PMNs are the main inducers of IRGs. Moreover, the relative contribution of the PMN fraction to the whole-blood IFN score was threefold higher than expected from its abundance in blood (p = 0.008), whereas it was three- to sixfold lower for the other subsets (p ≤ 0.063), implying that the PMNs are most sensitive to IFN signaling. Concordantly, IFNAR1 and IFNAR2 were upregulated compared with healthy controls selectively in patient PMNs (p ≤ 0.0077) but not in PBMCs. PMNs are the main contributors to the whole-blood type I IFN signature in patients with early arthritis, which seems due to
Selecting Optimal Parameters of Random Linear Network Coding for Wireless Sensor Networks
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Heide, J; Zhang, Qi; Fitzek, F H P
2013-01-01
This work studies how to select optimal code parameters of Random Linear Network Coding (RLNC) in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). With Rateless Deluge [1] the authors proposed to apply Network Coding (NC) for Over-the-Air Programming (OAP) in WSNs, and demonstrated that with NC a significant...... reduction in the number of transmitted packets can be achieved. However, NC introduces additional computations and potentially a non-negligible transmission overhead, both of which depend on the chosen coding parameters. Therefore it is necessary to consider the trade-off that these coding parameters...... present in order to obtain the lowest energy consumption per transmitted bit. This problem is analyzed and suitable coding parameters are determined for the popular Tmote Sky platform. Compared to the use of traditional RLNC, these parameters enable a reduction in the energy spent per bit which grows...
Eigenvector Subset Selection Using Bayesian Optimization Algorithm%基于贝叶斯优化算法的脸面特征向量子集选择
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
郭卫锋; 林亚平; 罗光平
2002-01-01
Eigenvector subset selection is the key to face recognition. In this paper ,we propose ESS-BOA, a newrandomized, population-based evolutionary algorithm which deals with the Eigenvector Subset Selection (ESS)prob-lem on face recognition application. In ESS-BOA ,the ESS problem, stated as a search problem ,uses the BayesianOptimization Algorithm (BOA) as searching engine and the distance degree as the object function to select eigenvec-tor. Experimental results show that ESS-BOA outperforms the traditional the eigenface selection algorithm.
Douglas, SD; Rudy, B; Muenz, L; Starr, SE; Campbell, DE; Wilson, C; Holland, C; Crowley-Nowick, P; Vermund, SH
Background: The capacity of the immune system of adolescents to generate and repopulate naive and memory cell populations under conditions of normal homeostasis and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is largely unknown. Objective: To assess lymphocyte subsets in HIV-infected and high-risk
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Tong, Cao; Sun, Zhili; Zhao, Qianli; Wang, Qibin; Wang, Shuang
2015-01-01
To solve the problem of large computation when failure probability with time-consuming numerical model is calculated, we propose an improved active learning reliability method called AK-SSIS based on AK-IS algorithm. First, an improved iterative stopping criterion in active learning is presented so that iterations decrease dramatically. Second, the proposed method introduces Subset simulation importance sampling (SSIS) into the active learning reliability calculation, and then a learning function suitable for SSIS is proposed. Finally, the efficiency of AK-SSIS is proved by two academic examples from the literature. The results show that AK-SSIS requires fewer calls to the performance function than AK-IS, and the failure probability obtained from AK-SSIS is very robust and accurate. Then this method is applied on a spur gear pair for tooth contact fatigue reliability analysis.
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Tong, Cao; Sun, Zhili; Zhao, Qianli; Wang, Qibin [Northeastern University, Shenyang (China); Wang, Shuang [Jiangxi University of Science and Technology, Ganzhou (China)
2015-08-15
To solve the problem of large computation when failure probability with time-consuming numerical model is calculated, we propose an improved active learning reliability method called AK-SSIS based on AK-IS algorithm. First, an improved iterative stopping criterion in active learning is presented so that iterations decrease dramatically. Second, the proposed method introduces Subset simulation importance sampling (SSIS) into the active learning reliability calculation, and then a learning function suitable for SSIS is proposed. Finally, the efficiency of AK-SSIS is proved by two academic examples from the literature. The results show that AK-SSIS requires fewer calls to the performance function than AK-IS, and the failure probability obtained from AK-SSIS is very robust and accurate. Then this method is applied on a spur gear pair for tooth contact fatigue reliability analysis.
Amini, E; Rafiei, P; Zarei, K; Gohari, M; Hamidi, M
2013-01-01
Music is considered a subset of developmental supportive care. It may act as a suitable auditory stimulant in preterm infants. Also, it may reduce stress responses in autonomic, motor and state systems. To assess and compare the influence of lullaby and classical music on physiologic parameters. This is a randomized clinical trial with cross-over design. A total of 25 stable preterm infants with birth weight of 1000-2500 grams were studied for six consecutive days. Each infant was exposed to three phases: lullaby music, classical music, and no music (control) for two days each. The sequence of these phases was assigned randomly to each subject. Babies were continuously monitored for heart rate, respiratory rate, and oxygen saturation and changes between phases were analyzed. Lullaby reduced heart rate (p music reduced heart rate (p = 0.018). The effects of classical music disappeared once the music stopped. Oxygen saturation did not change during intervention. Music can affect vital signs of preterm infants; this effect can possibly be related to the reduction of stress during hospitalization. The implications of these findings on clinical and developmental outcomes need further study.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Linlin Tan
2016-10-01
Full Text Available An opportunity wireless charging system for electric vehicles when they stop and wait at traffic lights is proposed in this paper. In order to solve the serious power fluctuation caused by random access loads, this study presents a power stabilization strategy based on counting the number of electric vehicles in a designated area, including counting method, power source voltage adjustment strategy and choice of counting points. Firstly, the circuit model of a wireless power system with multi-loads is built and the equation of each load is obtained. Secondly, after the counting method of electric vehicles is stated, the voltage adjustment strategy, based on the number of electric vehicles when the system is at a steady state, is set out. Then, the counting points are chosen according to power curves when the voltage adjustment strategy is adopted. Finally, an experimental prototype is implemented to verify the power stabilization strategy. The experimental results show that, with the application of this strategy, the charging power is stabilized with the fluctuation of no more than 5% when loads access randomly.
Patient-Physician Communication About Code Status Preferences: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Rhondali, Wadih; Perez-Cruz, Pedro; Hui, David; Chisholm, Gary B.; Dalal, Shalini; Baile, Walter; Chittenden, Eva; Bruera, Eduardo
2013-01-01
Purpose Code status discussions are important in cancer care. The best modality for such discussions has not been established. Our objective was to determine the impact of a physician ending a code status discussion with a question (autonomy approach) versus a recommendation (beneficence approach) on patients' do-not-resuscitate (DNR) preference. Methods Patients in a supportive care clinic watched two videos showing a physician-patient discussion regarding code status. Both videos were identical except for the ending: one ended with the physician asking for the patient's code status preference and the other with the physician recommending DNR. Patients were randomly assigned to watch the videos in different sequences. The main outcome was the proportion of patients choosing DNR for the video patient. Results 78 patients completed the study. 74% chose DNR after the question video, 73% after the recommendation video. Median physician compassion score was very high and not different for both videos. 30/30 patients who had chosen DNR for themselves and 30/48 patients who had not chosen DNR for themselves chose DNR for the video patient (100% v/s 62%). Age (OR=1.1/year) and white ethnicity (OR=9.43) predicted DNR choice for the video patient. Conclusion Ending DNR discussions with a question or a recommendation did not impact DNR choice or perception of physician compassion. Therefore, both approaches are clinically appropriate. All patients who chose DNR for themselves and most patients who did not choose DNR for themselves chose DNR for the video patient. Age and race predicted DNR choice. PMID:23564395
Caprara, Gian Vittorio; Nisini, Roberto; Castellani, Valeria; Vittorio, Pasquali; Alessandri, Guido; Vincenzo, Ziparo; Claudia, Ferlito; Valentina, Germano; Andrea, Picchianti Diamanti; Biondo, Michela Ileen; Milanetti, Francesca; Salerno, Gerardo; Vincenzo, Visco; Mario, Pietrosanti; Aniballi, Eros; Simonetta, Salemi; Angela, Santoni; D'Amelio, Raffaele
2017-08-01
In the current study, the possible association of positivity (POS), recently defined as general disposition to view life under positive outlook, with immune markers and post-stress modifications, was analyzed. Circulating lymphocyte subsets and serum cytokine levels were evaluated before and after a standard mild acute stress test, in 41 healthy students, previously selected by a questionnaire for their level of POS (high [POS-H] and low [POS-L]). The CD3 + and CD4 + cell frequency was higher in the POS-H students before and after acute stress. CD4 + subpopulation analysis revealed baseline higher terminally differentiated frequency in the POS-H, whereas higher effector memory frequency was present in the POS-L students. Moreover, the frequency of post-stress B cells was higher in the POS-H students. The mild-stress test was associated to an increase of the IL-10 mean values, while mean values of the other cytokines tested did not change significantly. It is tempting to speculate that IL-10 may work as biomarker of response to acute mild stress and that POS-H may be associated to a better capacity of the immune system to contrast the disturbing effects of mild acute stress. Yet further studies on lymphocyte subset absolute number and function of larger and different populations are needed to definitively prove these preliminary observations. Copyright © 2017 European Federation of Immunological Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Qi Yiqin
2010-01-01
Objective: To study the changes of serum TGF-β 1 levels and T-cell subset distribution type in patients with gastric ulcer. Methods: Serum TGF-β 1 levels were measured with RIA and T-cell subset distribution type was studied with monoclonal antibody technique in 32 patients with gastric ulcer and 35 controls. Results: In the patients,the serum TGF-β 1 levels and CD8 percentage were significantly higher than those in controls (P 1 levels were significantly negatively correlated with CD4 percentage and CD4/CD8 ratio, but significantly positively correlated with CD8 percentage. Conclusion: Serum TGF-β 1 may inhibit cellular immunity, which may be one of the causes of reduced cellular immuno-function in patients with gastric ulcer. (authors)
Rose, M. L.; Habeshaw, J. A.; Kennedy, R.; Sloane, J.; Wiltshaw, E.; Davies, A. J.
1981-01-01
The binding of horseradish-peroxidase-labelled peanut lectin (HRP-PNL) to cryostat sections of tonsil, lymphoma lymph nodes, reactive lymph nodes and miscellaneous tumours demonstrated that PNL binds selectively to lymphocytes in germinal centres. Lymph nodes from 21 patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphomas were phenotyped as cell suspensions for PNL binding, and the following surface markers: E rosetting, C3d, SIg, OK markers of T-cell subsets, Ig heavy-chain and light-chain classes. There was ...
Effects of hormone therapy on brain structure: A randomized controlled trial.
Kantarci, Kejal; Tosakulwong, Nirubol; Lesnick, Timothy G; Zuk, Samantha M; Gunter, Jeffrey L; Gleason, Carey E; Wharton, Whitney; Dowling, N Maritza; Vemuri, Prashanthi; Senjem, Matthew L; Shuster, Lynne T; Bailey, Kent R; Rocca, Walter A; Jack, Clifford R; Asthana, Sanjay; Miller, Virginia M
2016-08-30
To investigate the effects of hormone therapy on brain structure in a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial in recently postmenopausal women. Participants (aged 42-56 years, within 5-36 months past menopause) in the Kronos Early Estrogen Prevention Study were randomized to (1) 0.45 mg/d oral conjugated equine estrogens (CEE), (2) 50 μg/d transdermal 17β-estradiol, or (3) placebo pills and patch for 48 months. Oral progesterone (200 mg/d) was given to active treatment groups for 12 days each month. MRI and cognitive testing were performed in a subset of participants at baseline, and at 18, 36, and 48 months of randomization (n = 95). Changes in whole brain, ventricular, and white matter hyperintensity volumes, and in global cognitive function, were measured. Higher rates of ventricular expansion were observed in both the CEE and the 17β-estradiol groups compared to placebo; however, the difference was significant only in the CEE group (p = 0.01). Rates of ventricular expansion correlated with rates of decrease in brain volume (r = -0.58; p ≤ 0.001) and with rates of increase in white matter hyperintensity volume (r = 0.27; p = 0.01) after adjusting for age. The changes were not different between the CEE and 17β-estradiol groups for any of the MRI measures. The change in global cognitive function was not different across the groups. Ventricular volumes increased to a greater extent in recently menopausal women who received CEE compared to placebo but without changes in cognitive performance. Because the sample size was small and the follow-up limited to 4 years, the findings should be interpreted with caution and need confirmation. This study provides Class I evidence that brain ventricular volume increased to a greater extent in recently menopausal women who received oral CEE compared to placebo. © 2016 American Academy of Neurology.
Random a-adic groups and random net fractals
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Li Yin [Department of Mathematics, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (China)], E-mail: Lyjerry7788@hotmail.com; Su Weiyi [Department of Mathematics, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (China)], E-mail: suqiu@nju.edu.cn
2008-08-15
Based on random a-adic groups, this paper investigates the relationship between the existence conditions of a positive flow in a random network and the estimation of the Hausdorff dimension of a proper random net fractal. Subsequently we describe some particular random fractals for which our results can be applied. Finally the Mauldin and Williams theorem is shown to be very important example for a random Cantor set with application in physics as shown in E-infinity theory.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Shahrzad Yektatalab
2016-01-01
Full Text Available Background: Aggression is a kind of behavior that causes damage or harm to others. The prevalence of aggression is 8–20% in 3–6 years old children. The present study aimed to assess the effect of training kindergarten teachers regarding reinforcement behavior therapy on preschoolers’ aggression. Methods: In this cluster randomized control trial, 14 out of 35 kindergarten and preschool centers of Mohr city, Iran, were chosen using random cluster sampling and then randomly assigned to an intervention and a control group. All 370 kindergarten and preschool children in 14 kindergarten were assessed by preschoolers’ aggression questionnaire and 60 children who obtained a minimum aggression score of 117.48 for girls and 125.77 for boys were randomly selected. The teachers in the intervention group participated in 4 educational sessions on behavior therapy and then practiced this technique under the supervision of the researcher for two months. Preschoolers’ aggression questionnaire was computed in both intervention and control groups before and after a two-month period. Results: The results demonstrated a significant statistical difference in the total aggression score (P=0.01, verbal (P=0.02 and physical (P=0.01 aggression subscales scores in the intervention group in comparison to the control group after the intervention. But the scores of relational aggression (P=0.09 and impulsive anger (P=0.08 subscales were not statistically different in the intervention group compared to the controls. Conclusion: This study highlighted the importance of teaching reinforcement behavior therapy by kindergarten teachers in decreasing verbal and physical aggression in preschoolers.
Non-compact random generalized games and random quasi-variational inequalities
Yuan, Xian-Zhi
1994-01-01
In this paper, existence theorems of random maximal elements, random equilibria for the random one-person game and random generalized game with a countable number of players are given as applications of random fixed point theorems. By employing existence theorems of random generalized games, we deduce the existence of solutions for non-compact random quasi-variational inequalities. These in turn are used to establish several existence theorems of noncompact generalized random ...
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Zhang Weidong
2010-11-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background Tight correlation between host circulating CD8+ T cell-mediated immune response and control of viral replication is classical characteristic of long-term HCV infection. CD8+ T cell maturation/activation markers are expected to be associated with viral replication and disease progression in chronic HCV infection. The aim of the present study was to explore novel markers on CD8+ T cells with ability to evaluate HCV viral replication and disease progression. Methods PBMCs were isolated from 37 chronic HCV-infected patients and 17 healthy controls. Distributed pattern of CD8+ T cells subsets and expression of PD-1, CD38, HLA-DR and CD127 were analyzed by flow cytometry. The correlation between expression of surface markers and HCV viral load or ALT was studied. Results Declined naïve and increased TEMRA CD8+ T subsets were found in HCV-infected individuals compared with healthy controls. Percentage and MFI of PD-1, CD38 and HLA-DR on all CD8+ T cell subsets were higher in HCV-infected patients than healthy controls. In contrast, CD127 expression on CD8+ TCM showed an opposite trend as PD-1, CD38 and HLA-DR did. In chronic HCV infection, MFI of PD-1 on CD8+ TEM (p Conclusion PD-1 level on peripheral CD8+ TEM/TEMRA was highly correlated with HCV viral load in chronic HCV-infected patients, which made PD-1 a novel indicator to evaluate HCV replication and disease progression in chronic hepatitis C patients.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Bergh, Ann-Charlotte; Evaldsson, Chamilly; Pedersen, Lone Bredo
2014-01-01
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia B cells express auto/xeno antigen-reactive antibodies that bind to self-epitopes and resemble natural IgM antibodies in their repertoire. One of the antigenic structures recognized is oxidation-induced malonedialdehyde that is present on low-density lipoprotein......-cell receptor unresponsiveness to cognate self-antigen on its own in poor-prognostic subset #1 chronic lymphocytic leukemia, indicating that these cells proliferate by other mechanisms that may override B-cell receptor silencing brought about in a context of self-tolerance/anergy. These novel findings have...
Colletotrichum species associated with chili anthracnose in Australia
De Silva, D. D.; Ades, P. K.; Crous, P. W.; Taylor, P. W J
2017-01-01
Phylogenetic relationships were determined for 45 Colletotrichum isolates causing anthracnose disease of chili in Queensland, Australia. Initial screening based on morphology, ITS and TUB2 genes resulted in a subset of 21 isolates being chosen for further taxonomic study. Isolates in the C. acutatum