Bayesian Lasso-mixed quantile regression

In this paper, we discuss the regularization in linear-mixed quantile regression. A hierarchical Bayesian model is used to shrink the fixed and random effects towards the common population values by introducing an l1 penalty in the mixed quantile regression check function. A Gibbs sampler is developed to simulate the parameters from the posterior distributions. Through simulation studies and analysis of an age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) data, we assess the performance of the proposed method. The simulation studies and the ARMD data analysis indicate that the proposed method performs well in comparison with the other approaches. © 2012 Taylor & Francis

Neoadjuvant in situ gene-mediated cytotoxic immunotherapy improves postoperative outcomes in novel syngeneic esophageal carcinoma models

Esophageal carcinoma is the most rapidly increasing tumor in the United States and has a dismal 15% 5-year survival. Immunotherapy has been proposed to improve patient outcomes; however, no immunocompetent esophageal carcinoma model exists to date to test this approach. We developed two mouse models of esophageal cancer by inoculating immunocompetent mice with syngeneic esophageal cell lines transformed by cyclin-D1 or mutant HRASG12V and loss of p53. Similar to humans, surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy (cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil) demonstrated limited efficacy. Gene-mediated cyototoxic immunotherapy (adenoviral vector carrying the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase gene in combination with the prodrug ganciclovir; AdV-tk/GCV) demonstrated high levels of in vitro transduction and efficacy. Using in vivo syngeneic esophageal carcinoma models, combining surgery, chemotherapy and AdV-tk/GCV improved survival (P=0.007) and decreased disease recurrence (P<0.001). Mechanistic studies suggested that AdV-tk/GCV mediated a direct cytotoxic effect and an increased intra-tumoral trafficking of CD8 T cells (8.15% vs 14.89%, P=0.02). These data provide the first preclinical evidence that augmenting standard of care with immunotherapy may improve outcomes in the management of esophageal carcinoma

The Evolution and Cultural Framing of Food Safety Management Systems – Where from and Where next?

The aim of this paper is to review the development of food safety management systems (FSMS) from their origins in the 1950s to the present. The food safety challenges in modern food supply systems are explored and it is argued that there is the need for a more holistic thinking approach to food safety management. The narrative review highlights that whilst the transactional elements of how FSMS are developed, validated, implemented, monitored and verified remains largely unchanged, how organizational culture frames the operation and efficacy of FSMS is becoming more important. The evolution of a wider academic and industry understanding of both the influence of food safety culture (FS-culture) and also how such culture frames and enables, or conversely restricts the efficacy of the FSMS is crucial for consumer wellbeing. Potential research gaps worthy of further study are identified as well as recommendations given for the application of the research findings within the food industry

Structure-controlled growth of ZnO nanonails by thermal evaporation technique

Wurtzite ZnO nanonail structures have been grown on sapphire substrate by simple thermal evaporation of Zn powder in oxygen ambient. Growth parameters such as growth temperature and oxygen gas flow have been examined for the growth of nanonail structure. It is found that the nanonail structures repeatedly grow under a certain relation between the growth temperature and the oxygen flow. Also, at higher growth temperature, the nanonails grow in the form of branched-structures. The grown ZnO nanonails have hexagonally well-faceted cap and grow mostly perpendicular to the sapphire substrate. Excellent luminescence properties of a strong UV emission peak with negligible green band have been obtained at room temperature