On African Symbolic Messages.

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Real-time synchronization of batch trajectories for on-line multivariate statistical process control using Dynamic Time Warping

This paper addresses the real-time monitoring of batch processes with multiple different local time trajectories of variables measured during the process run. For Unfold Principal Component Analysis (U-PCA)—or Unfold Partial Least Squares (U-PLS)-based on-line monitoring of batch processes, batch runs need to be synchronized, not only to have the same time length, but also such that key events happen at the same time. An adaptation from Kassidas et al.'s approach [1] will be introduced to achieve the on-line synchronization of batch trajectories using the Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) algorithm. In the proposed adaptation, a new boundaries definition is presented for accurate on-line synchronization of an ongoing batch, together with a way to adapt mapping boundaries to batch length. A relaxed greedy strategy is introduced to avoid assessing the optimal path each time a new sample is available. The key advantages of the proposed strategy are its computational speed and accuracy for the batch process context. Data from realistic simulations of a fermentation process of the Saccharomyces cerevisae cultivation are used to illustrate the performance of the proposed strategy.This research work was supported by the Spanish government under the project (DPI2008-06880-C03-03). We also gratefully acknowledge Jose Camacho PhD. for providing simulated data from a fermentation process of Saccharomyces cerevisae. The authors would also like to acknowledge the valuable suggestions made by Prof. Paul Taylor.González Martínez, JM.; Ferrer Riquelme, AJ.; Westerhuis, JA. (2011). Real-time synchronization of batch trajectories for on-line multivariate statistical process control using Dynamic Time Warping. Chemometrics and Intelligent Laboratory Systems. 105(2):195-206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemolab.2011.01.003S195206105

Cellular distribution of vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) and B (VEGFB) and VEGF receptors 1 and 2 in focal cortical dysplasia type IIB

Members of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) family are key signaling proteins in the induction and regulation of angiogenesis, both during development and in pathological conditions. However, signaling mediated through VEGF family proteins and their receptors has recently been shown to have direct effects on neurons and glial cells. In the present study, we immunocytochemically investigated the expression and cellular distribution of VEGFA, VEGFB, and their associated receptors (VEGFR-1 and VEGFR-2) in focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) type IIB from patients with medically intractable epilepsy. Histologically normal temporal cortex and perilesional regions displayed neuronal immunoreactivity (IR) for VEGFA, VEGFB, and VEGF receptors (VEGFR-1 and VEGFR-2), mainly in pyramidal neurons. Weak IR was observed in blood vessels and there was no notable glial IR within the grey and white matter. In all FCD specimens, VEGFA, VEGFB, and both VEGF receptors were highly expressed in dysplastic neurons. IR in astroglial and balloon cells was observed for VEGFA and its receptors. VEGFR-1 displayed strong endothelial staining in FCD. Double-labeling also showed expression of VEGFA, VEGFB and VEGFR-1 in cells of the microglia/macrophage lineage. The neuronal expression of both VEGFA and VEGFB, together with their specific receptors in FCD, suggests autocrine/paracrine effects on dysplastic neurons. These autocrine/paracrine effects could play a role in the development of FCD, preventing the death of abnormal neuronal cells. In addition, the expression of VEGFA and its receptors in glial cells within the dysplastic cortex indicates that VEGF-mediated signaling could contribute to astroglial activation and associated inflammatory reactions

CCL21/CCR7 Prevents Apoptosis via the ERK Pathway in Human Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cells

Previously, we confirmed that C-C chemokine receptor 7 (CCR7) promotes cell proliferation via the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway, but its role in apoptosis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines remains unknown. A549 and H460 cells of NSCLC were used to examine the effect of CCL21/CCR7 on apoptosis using flow cytometry. The results showed that activation of CCR7 by its specific ligand, exogenous chemokine ligand 21 (CCL21), was associated with a significant decline in the percent of apoptosis. Western blot and real-time PCR assays indicated that activation of CCR7 significantly caused upregulation of anti-apoptotic bcl-2 and downregulation of pro-apoptotic bax and caspase-3, but not p53, at both protein and mRNA levels. CCR7 small interfering RNA significantly attenuated these effects of exogenous CCL21. Besides, PD98059, a selective inhibitor of MEK that disrupts the activation of downstream ERK, significantly abolished these effects of CCL21/CCR7. Coimmunoprecipitation further confirmed that there was an interaction between p-ERK and bcl-2, bax, or caspase-3, particularly in the presence of CCL21. These results strongly suggest that CCL21/CCR7 prevents apoptosis by upregulating the expression of bcl-2 and by downregulating the expression of bax and caspase-3 potentially via the ERK pathway in A549 and H460 cells of NSCLC