1,094 research outputs found
Shape restricted regression with random Bernstein polynomials
Shape restricted regressions, including isotonic regression and concave
regression as special cases, are studied using priors on Bernstein polynomials
and Markov chain Monte Carlo methods. These priors have large supports, select
only smooth functions, can easily incorporate geometric information into the
prior, and can be generated without computational difficulty. Algorithms
generating priors and posteriors are proposed, and simulation studies are
conducted to illustrate the performance of this approach. Comparisons with the
density-regression method of Dette et al. (2006) are included.Comment: Published at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/074921707000000157 in the IMS
Lecture Notes Monograph Series
(http://www.imstat.org/publications/lecnotes.htm) by the Institute of
Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org
Development of the NTP Pool Project in Taiwan
Among the standard time reporting systems, the Network Time Protocol (NTP) provides an easy and accurate way for the accessing the Universal time. The NTP is taking the benefit of the pervasiveness of the computer network during
the recent information-oriented modern world. The NTP Pool Project is the project to provide a distributed framework of the NTP servers. As the ever-increasing amounts of the requests of the standard time, the number of the NTP servers provided by the NTP Pool Project will be extended correspondingly. This paper will provide the detailed introduction on the framework of the NTP Pool Project, the development of the NTP Pool Project in Taiwan at the present time, and the followed by the suggestions of the implementation of the NTP pool project
Using LC-MS with de novo software to fully characterize the multiple methylations of lysine residues in a recombinant fragment of an outer membrane protein from a virulent strain of Rickettsia prowazekii
The outer membrane protein B (OmpB) of the typhus group rickettsiae is an immunodominant antigen and has been shown to provide protection against typhus in animal models. Consequently, OmpB is currently being considered as a potential rickettsiae vaccine candidate to be used in humans. The OmpB from virulent strains are heavily methylated while the attenuated strains are hypomethylated. Western blot analysis of partially digested OmpB revealed that one of the reactive fragments was located at the N-terminus (fragment A, aa 33–272). Recently, we have over expressed, purified, and chemically methylated the recombinant fragment A from Rickettsia prowazekii (Ap). The methylated Ap was thoroughly characterized by LC/MS/MS on the ProteomeX workstation. The protein sequence of Ap with and without methylation was 87.7% and 100% identified, respectively. This high sequence coverage enabled us to determine the sites and extent of methylation on the lysine residues in Ap. All the lysine residues except the C-terminus lysine were either mono-, di- or tri-methylated. In addition, carbamylation on the N-terminus glycine was identified using a combination of denovo sequencing (DeNovoX) and the pattern recognition (SALSA) program with accurate mass measurement. We demonstrated that the use of peptide identification (SEQUEST) in combination with SALSA and denovo sequencing provided a useful means to characterize the sequence and posttranslational modifications of given proteins
Improving therapeutic HPV peptide-based vaccine potency by enhancing CD4+ T help and dendritic cell activation
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Effective vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) represents an opportunity to control cervical cancer. Peptide-based vaccines targeting HPV E6 and/or E7 antigens while safe, will most likely require additional strategies to enhance the vaccine potency.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We tested the HPV-16 E7 peptide-based vaccine in combination with a strategy to enhance CD4+ T help using a Pan HLA-DR epitope (PADRE) peptide and a strategy to enhance dendritic cell activation using the toll-like receptor 3 ligand, poly(I:C).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We observed that mice vaccinated with E7 peptide-based vaccine in combination with PADRE peptide and poly(I:C) generated better E7-specific CD8<sup>+ </sup>T cell immune responses as well as significantly improved therapeutic anti-tumor effects against TC-1 tumors compared to E7 peptide-based vaccine with either PADRE peptide or poly(I:C) alone. Furthermore, we found that intratumoral vaccination with the E7 peptide in conjunction with PADRE peptide and poly(I:C) generates a significantly higher frequency of E7-specific CD8<sup>+ </sup>T cells as well as better survival compared to subcutaneous vaccination with the same regimen in treated mice.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The combination of PADRE peptide and poly(I:C) with antigenic peptide is capable of generating potent antigen-specific CD8+ T cell immune responses and antitumor effects in vaccinated mice. Our study has significant clinical implications for peptide-based vaccination.</p
Profiling time course expression of virus genes---an illustration of Bayesian inference under shape restrictions
There have been several studies of the genome-wide temporal transcriptional
program of viruses, based on microarray experiments, which are generally useful
in the construction of gene regulation network. It seems that biological
interpretations in these studies are directly based on the normalized data and
some crude statistics, which provide rough estimates of limited features of the
profile and may incur biases. This paper introduces a hierarchical Bayesian
shape restricted regression method for making inference on the time course
expression of virus genes. Estimates of many salient features of the expression
profile like onset time, inflection point, maximum value, time to maximum
value, area under curve, etc. can be obtained immediately by this method.
Applying this method to a baculovirus microarray time course expression data
set, we indicate that many biological questions can be formulated
quantitatively and we are able to offer insights into the baculovirus biology.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/09-AOAS258 the Annals of
Applied Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aoas/) by the Institute of
Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org
Femtosecond laser treatment enhances DNA transfection efficiency in vivo
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Gene therapy with plasmid DNA is emerging as a promising strategy for the treatment of many diseases. One of the major obstacles to such therapy is the poor transfection efficiency of DNA <it>in vivo</it>.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this report, we employed a very low power, near-infrared femtosecond laser technique to enhance the transfection efficiency of intradermally and intratumorally administered DNA plasmid.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found that femtosecond laser treatment can significantly enhance the delivery of DNA into the skin and into established tumors in mice. In addition, we found that both laser power density as well as duration of laser treatment are critical parameters for augmenting DNA transfection efficiency. The femtosecond laser technique employs a relatively unfocused laser beam that maximizes the transfected area, minimizes damage to tissue and simplifies its implementation.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This femtosecond new laser technology represents a safe and innovative technology for enhancing DNA gene transfer in vivo.</p
Involvement of F-Actin in Chaperonin-Containing t-Complex 1 Beta Regulating Mouse Mesangial Cell Functions in a Glucose-Induction Cell Model
The aim of this study is to investigate the role of chaperonin-containing t-complex polypeptide 1 beta (CCT2) in the regulation of mouse mesangial cell (mMC) contraction, proliferation, and migration with filamentous/globular-(F/G-) actin ratio under high glucose induction. A low CCT2 mMC model induced by treatment of small interference RNA was established. Groups with and without low CCT2 induction examined in normal and high (H) glucose conditions revealed the following major results: (1) low CCT2 or H glucose showed the ability to attenuate F/G-actin ratio; (2) groups with low F/G-actin ratio all showed less cell contraction; (3) suppression of CCT2 may reduce the proliferation and migration which were originally induced by H glucose. In conclusion, CCT2 can be used as a specific regulator for mMC contraction, proliferation, and migration affected by glucose, which mechanism may involve the alteration of F-actin, particularly for cell contraction
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