2,453 research outputs found
Infectious anastomotic pseudoaneurysm complicating renal allograft: case report and review of literature
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Effects of blanching, drying and extraction processes on the antioxidant activity of yam (Dioscorea alata)
[[abstract]]The effects of blanching, drying and extraction processes on the antioxidant activities of one kind of Taiwanese yam peel, Darsan (Dioscorea alata), were investigated. The antioxidant measurements included total phenolic content, reducing power and alpha ,alpha-diphenyl-beta-pricryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging activity. The 50% ethanolic, hot water and water extracts from the peel all had much higher antioxidant activities than those extracts from the flesh. Among three extraction methods, 50% ethanolic extraction resulted in the highest antioxidant activities in the peel, while hot water extraction was more appropriate for the flesh. Blanching by immersing the peel in 85 degrees C water for 30 s caused significant reductions in the antioxidant activities of all the extracts from the peel. Generally speaking, freeze-dried peel maintained higher antioxidant activities than hot air-dried peel
Sheet metal plate design: a structured approach to product optimization in the presence of technological constraints
Geometrical optimization of structural components is a topic of high interest for engineers involved with design activities mainly related to mass reduction. The study described in these pages focuses on the optimization of plates subjected to bending for which stiffness is obtained by a pattern of ribs. Although stiffening by means of ribs is a well-known and old technique, the design of ribs for maximum stiffness is often based on practice and experience. Classical optimization methods such as topological, topographical and parametric optimization fail to give an efficient design with a reasonable programming effort, especially when dealing with many and complex constraints. These constraints are both technical and technological. A most promising technique to obtain optimal rib patterns was to define a set of feasible rib trajectories and then to select the subset with the most efficient combinations. The result is not unique and a method to select the optimal patterns is required. In fact, the stiffening effect increases with increasing rib length, but at a greater cost. A trade-off must be found between structural performance and cost: The tools to guide this selection process is the main objective of the paper, with particular attention in evaluating the stiffening due to the presence of beads on the plate with a close link with the production system and possible technological constraints which can occur during manufacturing processes, such as minimum rib distance or the presence of discontinuities or the presence of holes or other elements on the plate. A special tool with enforced rib cross section is considered, and optimal rib deployment has to be found. Numerical examples attached show the methodology and obtainable results. \ua9 2011 Springer-Verlag London Limited
Genome maps across 26 human populations reveal population-specific patterns of structural variation.
Large structural variants (SVs) in the human genome are difficult to detect and study by conventional sequencing technologies. With long-range genome analysis platforms, such as optical mapping, one can identify large SVs (>2 kb) across the genome in one experiment. Analyzing optical genome maps of 154 individuals from the 26 populations sequenced in the 1000 Genomes Project, we find that phylogenetic population patterns of large SVs are similar to those of single nucleotide variations in 86% of the human genome, while ~2% of the genome has high structural complexity. We are able to characterize SVs in many intractable regions of the genome, including segmental duplications and subtelomeric, pericentromeric, and acrocentric areas. In addition, we discover ~60 Mb of non-redundant genome content missing in the reference genome sequence assembly. Our results highlight the need for a comprehensive set of alternate haplotypes from different populations to represent SV patterns in the genome
The prognostic value of the hypoxia markers CA IX and GLUT 1 and the cytokines VEGF and IL 6 in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma treated by radiotherapy ± chemotherapy
BACKGROUND: Several parameters of the tumor microenvironment, such as hypoxia, inflammation and angiogenesis, play a critical role in tumor aggressiveness and treatment response. A major question remains if these markers can be used to stratify patients to certain treatment protocols. The purpose of this study was to investigate the inter-relationship and the prognostic significance of several biological and clinicopathological parameters in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) treated by radiotherapy ± chemotherapy. METHODS: We used two subgroups of a retrospective series for which CT-determined tumoral perfusion correlated with local control. In the first subgroup (n = 67), immunohistochemistry for carbonic anhydrase IX (CA IX) and glucose transporter-1 (GLUT-1) was performed on the pretreatment tumor biopsy. In the second subgroup (n = 34), enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to determine pretreatment levels of the cytokines vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in serum. Correlation was investigated between tumoral perfusion and each of these biological markers, as well as between the markers mutually. The prognostic value of these microenvironmental parameters was also evaluated. RESULTS: For CA IX and GLUT-1, the combined assessment of patients with both markers expressed above the median showed an independent correlation with local control (p = 0.02) and disease-free survival (p = 0.04) with a trend for regional control (p = 0.06). In the second subgroup, IL-6 pretreatment serum level above the median was the only independent predictor of local control (p = 0.009), disease-free survival (p = 0.02) and overall survival (p = 0.005). CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, we are the first to report a link in HNSCC between IL-6 pretreatment serum levels and radioresistance in vivo. This link is supported by the strong prognostic association of pretreatment IL-6 with local control, known to be the most important parameter to judge radiotherapy responses. Furthermore, the combined assessment of CA IX and GLUT-1 correlated independently with prognosis. This is a valuable indication that a combined approach is important in the investigation of prognostic markers
Towards identification of a non-abelian state: observation of a quarter of electron charge at quantum Hall state
The fractional quantum Hall effect, where plateaus in the Hall resistance at
values of coexist with zeros in the longitudinal resistance, results from
electron correlations in two dimensions under a strong magnetic field. Current
flows along the edges carried by charged excitations (quasi particles) whose
charge is a fraction of the electron charge. While earlier research
concentrated on odd denominator fractional values of , the observation of
the even denominator state sparked a vast interest. This state is
conjectured to be characterized by quasiparticles of charge e/4, whose
statistics is non-abelian. In other words, interchanging of two quasi particles
may modify the state of the system to an orthogonal one, and does not just add
a phase as in for fermions or bosons. As such, these quasiparticles may be
useful for the construction of a topological quantum computer. Here we report
data of shot noise generated by partitioning edge currents in the
state, consistent with the charge of the quasiparticle being e/4, and
inconsistent with other potentially possible values, such as e/2 and e. While
not proving the non-abelian nature of the state, this observation is
the first step toward a full understanding of these new fractional charges
The relationship between patient physiology and cancer-specific survival following curative resection of colorectal cancer
The impact of patient physiology on cancer-specific survival is poorly documented. Patient physiology predicted overall, cancer-specific (Physiology Score>30; HR 8.64 (95% CI 3.00–24.92); P=0.0005) and recurrence-free survival (Physiology Score >30; HR 7.44 (95% CI 1.99–27.73); P=0.003) independent of Dukes stage following potentially curative surgery for colorectal cancer. This independent negative association with survival is a novel observation
Functional role of ICAM-3 polymorphism in genetic susceptibility to SARS infection.
Key Messages 1. Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) patients who are homozygous for intercellular adhesion molecule-3 (ICAM-3) Gly143 showed significant association with higher lactate dehydrogenase levels and lower total white blood cell counts on admission. 2. In vitro functional studies demonstrated low level binding of ICAM-3 to DC-SIGN and a wide variation in T-cell response of the wild-type ICAM-3 genotype.published_or_final_versio
Use of endobronchial one-way valves reveals questions on etiology of spontaneous pneumothorax: report of three cases
Spontaneous pneumothoraces are believed to arise when air from the supplying airway exit via a ruptured visceral pleural bleb into the pleural cavity. Endobronchial one-way valves (EBVs) allow air exit (but not entry) from individual segmental airways. Systematic deployment of EBVs was applied to three patients with secondary spontaneous pneumothoraces and persistent airleak. In all cases, balloon-catheter occlusion of the upper lobe bronchus stopped the airleak. EBVs applied to individual upper lobe segmental airways failed to terminate the airleak, which only stopped after placements of multiple EBVs to occlude all upper lobe segments. The observation questions the traditional belief of 'one-airway-one-bleb-one-leak' in spontaneous pneumothorax
Association of a single nucleotide polymorphism in the CD209 (DC-SIGN) promoter with SARS severity.
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