Response Detection of Castrate-Resistant Prostate Cancer to Clinically Utilised and Novel Treatments by Monitoring Phospholipid Metabolism

The authors gratefully acknowledge funding from Grampian NHS Endowment. The use of Professor Zanda’s and Jaspar’s NMR equipment and Russell Gray’s assistance are also gratefully acknowledged.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

CDP-choline accumulation in breast and colorectal cancer cells treated with a GSK-3-targeting inhibitor

Open via Springer Compact Agreement Funding from the University of Aberdeen Development Trust is gratefully acknowledged. Professor Zanda is gratefully acknowledged for the use of his NMR system.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Probing the PI3K/Akt/mTor pathway using 31P-NMR spectroscopy : routes to glycogen synthase kinase 3

Professor Matteo Zanda and Professor Marcel Jaspars are gratefully acknowledged for the use of the NMR system and Russell Gray for running some of the NMR samples.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Fractographic analysis of fractured dental implant components

AbstractBackground/purposeThis study investigated in seven patients the main causes of accidental fractures of various implant components.Materials and methodsWe used a scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope to observe the fracture interfaces of four fixtures, six abutment screws, and nine gold screws retrieved from patients with prosthetic problems.ResultsIn all fixtures and some abutment screws, parafunctional force and a cantilever design ultimately resulted in movement of low-angle grain boundaries (LAGBs) at most fracture surfaces. Fractographic observations showed that overloading deformed the grain sizes, and the no precipitates were present on the high-angle grain boundaries (HAGBs) or matrices of some abutment screws and most gold screws.ConclusionTo avoid implant fracture, certain underlying mechanical risk factors should be noted such as patients with a habit of bruxism, bridgework with a cantilever design, or two implants installed in a line in the posterior mandible

Web-based computer adaptive assessment of individual perceptions of job satisfaction for hospital workplace employees

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To develop a web-based computer adaptive testing (CAT) application for efficiently collecting data regarding workers' perceptions of job satisfaction, we examined whether a 37-item Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ-37) could evaluate the job satisfaction of individual employees as a single construct.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The JCQ-37 makes data collection via CAT on the internet easy, viable and fast. A Rasch rating scale model was applied to analyze data from 300 randomly selected hospital employees who participated in job-satisfaction surveys in 2008 and 2009 via non-adaptive and computer-adaptive testing, respectively.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 37 items on the questionnaire, 24 items fit the model fairly well. Person-separation reliability for the 2008 surveys was 0.88. Measures from both years and item-8 job satisfaction for groups were successfully evaluated through item-by-item analyses by using <it>t</it>-test. Workers aged 26 - 35 felt that job satisfaction was significantly worse in 2009 than in 2008.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A Web-CAT developed in the present paper was shown to be more efficient than traditional computer-based or pen-and-paper assessments at collecting data regarding workers' perceptions of job content.</p

A Bayesian measurement error model for two-channel cell-based RNAi data with replicates

RNA interference (RNAi) is an endogenous cellular process in which small double-stranded RNAs lead to the destruction of mRNAs with complementary nucleoside sequence. With the production of RNAi libraries, large-scale RNAi screening in human cells can be conducted to identify unknown genes involved in a biological pathway. One challenge researchers face is how to deal with the multiple testing issue and the related false positive rate (FDR) and false negative rate (FNR). This paper proposes a Bayesian hierarchical measurement error model for the analysis of data from a two-channel RNAi high-throughput experiment with replicates, in which both the activity of a particular biological pathway and cell viability are monitored and the goal is to identify short hair-pin RNAs (shRNAs) that affect the pathway activity without affecting cell activity. Simulation studies demonstrate the flexibility and robustness of the Bayesian method and the benefits of having replicates in the experiment. This method is illustrated through analyzing the data from a RNAi high-throughput screening that searches for cellular factors affecting HCV replication without affecting cell viability; comparisons of the results from this HCV study and some of those reported in the literature are included.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/11-AOAS496 the Annals of Applied Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aoas/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Optical Flow Visualization Using the Modular Background-Oriented Full-Scale Schlieren Technique

Background-oriented full-scale schlieren (BOFSS) with large test sections is a famous technique, specially developed for optical flow visualization. This article presents the technique using a modular background-oriented light source instead of the retroreflective method. The modular background- oriented light source is convenient to enlarge the area of the light source and providing a larger testing section, thus the test sections become flexible. Moreover, the article also focuses on investigating the BOFSS sensitivity with different percentages of cutoff grid. The setting composed of fluorescent lamp Philips-865, atomizing films, and linear grating mask. The linear grating mask is alternated with black lines with width of 6 mm. The area of light source and test section are 2 × 2 and 1 × 1 m2 , respectively. The present study applies different percentages of cutoff grid to block light source, and 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90% percentages of cutoff grid are been tested. The test subjects are heat flux from burning candles and Bunsen burner, acetone gas flow, LPG flow and compressed butane gas. The results show that a cutoff grid with 90% of light blockage presented the best result for conventional Z-arrangement schlieren technique. Whereas, cutoff 60 percent light shows the best results for full-scale schilieren technique

Inflammatory Marker but Not Adipokine Predicts Mortality among Long-Term Hemodialysis Patients

Aims: chronic inflammation contributes significantly to the morbidity and mortality of chronic hemodialysis patients. A recent research has shown that adipokines were associated with inflammation in these patients. We aim to investigate whether biomarkers of inflammation, adipokines, and clinical features can predict the outcome of hemodialysis patients. Materials and methods: we enrolled 181 hemodialysis patients (men: 97, mean age: 56.3±13.6) and analyzed predictors of long-term outcomes. Results: during the 3-year followup period, 41 patients died; the main causes of death were infection and cardiovascular disease. Elevated serum levels of hsCRP and albumin and advanced age were highly associated with death (all P<.001). Leptin and adiponectin levels were not significantly different between deceased patients and survivors. Cox-regression analysis indicated that age, diabetes, albumin level, and hsCRP were independent factors predicting mortality. Conclusion: the presence of underlying disease, advanced age, and markers of chronic inflammation is strongly related to survival rate in long-term hemodialysis patients