A system of degree four with an invariant triangle and at least three small amplitude limit cycles

We show the existence of a polynomial system of degree four having three real invariant straight lines forming a triangle with at least three small amplitude limit cycles in the interior. Also, we obtain the necessary and sufficient conditions for the critical point at the interior of the bounded region to be a center

Linking proteins to signaling pathways for experiment design and evaluation

Biomedical experimental work often focuses on altering the functions of selected proteins. These changes can hit signaling pathways, and can therefore unexpectedly and non-specifically affect cellular processes. We propose PathwayLinker, an online tool that can provide a first estimate of the possible signaling effects of such changes, e.g., drug or microRNA treatments. PathwayLinker minimizes the users' efforts by integrating protein-protein interaction and signaling pathway data from several sources with statistical significance tests and clear visualization. We demonstrate through three case studies that the developed tool can point out unexpected signaling bias in normal laboratory experiments and identify likely novel signaling proteins among the interactors of known drug targets. In our first case study we show that knockdown of the Caenorhabditis elegans gene cdc-25.1 (meant to avoid progeny) may globally affect the signaling system and unexpectedly bias experiments. In the second case study we evaluate the loss-of-function phenotypes of a less known C. elegans gene to predict its function. In the third case study we analyze GJA1, an anti-cancer drug target protein in human, and predict for this protein novel signaling pathway memberships, which may be sources of side effects. Compared to similar services, a major advantage of PathwayLinker is that it drastically reduces the necessary amount of manual literature searches and can be used without a computational background. PathwayLinker is available at http://PathwayLinker.org. Detailed documentation and source code are available at the website. © 2012 Farkas et al

Status of short-pulse KrF amplifier research and development at Hill, Szeged

The small saturation energy density of excimers requires amplifiers of large cross-sections for amplification of short pulses of already medium power. Homogeneous excitation of large volumes of Fluorine-based gas mixtures by discharge pumping is a critical interplay of the properties of both pumping and preionization; generally necessitating an intense, spatially and temporally controlled xray preionization. In the present realization at High Intensity Laser Laboratory (HILL) the stringent intensity requirements of preionization are fulfilled by reducing the pulse duration of the x-ray flash to ~16 ns, and by positioning the x-ray source in the near vicinity of the active volume. By proper choice of the positions of two cylindrical x-ray guns the spatial distribution of preionization can be tuned to (and around) the optimum distribution giving a practical method to compensate for eventual inhomogenities of the E-field of excitation and to tune the discharge to the desired geometry. In this way the realization of a KrF excimer amplifier of ~5 x 4 cm2 cross-section is presented

Loop-mediated isothermal amplification based approach as an alternative to recombinase polymerase amplification based detection of Mangalitza component in food products

We used an alternative approach, loop-mediated isothermal amplification, to detect Mangalitza component in food products, and it has been compared to an established Recombinase Polymerase Amplification test. The correlation between the assays was significant (P<0.01). Linear determination coefficient between the assays was 0.993 and level of diagnostic agreement was high (Kappa=0.971). Previously, a real-time PCR method based on TaqMan probe was developed (Szántó-Egész et al., 2013) for detection of Mangalitza meat in food products, using a Mangalitza specific sequence. Other Mangalitza specific sequences suitable for the same purpose are also in use (V. Stéger, personal communication). Approaches like real-time monitoring of accumulation of the specific DNA product usually require specialised laboratory equipment. For Mangalitza detection, portable Recombinase Polymerase Amplification (RPA) approach has been developed (Szántó-Egész et al., 2016), which requires a device capable of maintaining 39 °C and a lateral flow strip with easy yes/no indication of the successful amplification. We wanted to develop another fast, non-PCR based test with minimal laboratory requirement to provide a third possibility to detect Mangalitza component in food