Evaluation of the added mass for a spheroid-type unmanned underwater vehicle by vertical planar motion mechanism test

ABSTRACTThis paper shows added mass and inertia can be acquired from the pure heaving motion and pure pitching motion respectively. A Vertical Planar Motion Mechanism (VPMM) test for the spheroid-type Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) was compared with a theoretical calculation and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis in this paper. The VPMM test has been carried out at a towing tank with specially manufactured equipment. The linear equations of motion on the vertical plane were considered for theoretical calculation, and CFD results were obtained by commercial CFD package. The VPMM test results show good agreement with theoretical calculations and the CFD results, so that the applicability of the VPMM equipment for an underwater vehicle can be verified with a sufficient accuracy

Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index as a prognostic marker in patients with extensive-stage disease small cell lung cancer: Results from a randomized controlled trial

Background Clinical impact of the Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI) in patients with extensive-stage disease small cell lung cancer (ED-SCLC) have not previously been reported. Methods This study analyzed 352 patients enrolled in a previous randomized phase III trial comparing the efficacy of irinotecan plus cisplatin with that of etoposide plus cisplatin as the first-line therapy for ED-SCLC. GNRI values were calculated using serum albumin levels and actual and ideal bodyweights. Patients with a GNRI > 98, 92-98, and <92 were grouped into no, low, and moderate/major risk groups, respectively. Results The objective response rates were 63.2%, 52.6%, and 49.2% in the no, low, and moderate/major risk groups, respectively (P = 0.024). The median progression-free survival (PFS) was shorter in patients with a lower GNRI than in those with a higher GNRI (no vs. low vs. moderate/major risk group; 6.5 vs. 5.8 vs. 5.9 months, respectively; P = 0.028). There were significant differences in median overall survival (OS) according to GNRI (no vs. low vs. moderate/major risk group; 13.2 vs. 10.3 vs. 8.4 months, respectively; P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed that being in the moderate/major risk group was an independent poor prognostic factor for PFS (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.300, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.012-1.670; P = 0.040) and OS (HR: 1.539; 95% CI: 1.069-2.216; P = 0.020). Conclusions This prospective study shows that a low GNRI value was associated with a poor prognosis, and it supports the relationship between systemic inflammation, nutritional status, and clinical outcomes in patients with ED-SCLC.Key points Significant findings of the study The lower GNRI group had a low response rate to chemotherapy for ED-SCLC. The HRs for PFS and OS were 1.300 and 1.539 in the patients with GNRI < 92. What this study adds Low GNRI is associated with poor prognosis in ED-SCLC.

Spectroscopic Interpretation of PAH-Spectra in Minerals and Its Possible Application to Soil Monitoring

In order to properly assess the feasibility of using Laser-Induced Fluorescence (LIF) spectroscopy for soil monitoring, the variation of fluorescence intensity due to the heterogeneity and complexity of soil media was investigated. Different soil minerals showed fluorescence spectral structures distinguishable from the contaminants, implying dissimilar interactions or the binding of contaminants on mineral surfaces. More interestingly, solvent and water addition showed different responses in the fluorescence spectral structure showing their effect on the interactions between contaminants and minerals. These results support the claim that the spectral structure contains information on contaminant-mineral interactions; therefore contaminants can be used as a fluorescence probe for these interactions

Methylsulfonylmethane Suppresses Breast Cancer Growth by Down-Regulating STAT3 and STAT5b Pathways

Breast cancer is the most aggressive form of all cancers, with high incidence and mortality rates. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the molecular mechanism by which methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) inhibits breast cancer growth in mice xenografts. MSM is an organic sulfur-containing natural compound without any toxicity. In this study, we demonstrated that MSM substantially decreased the viability of human breast cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner. MSM also suppressed the phosphorylation of STAT3, STAT5b, expression of IGF-1R, HIF-1α, VEGF, BrK, and p-IGF-1R and inhibited triple-negative receptor expression in receptor-positive cell lines. Moreover, MSM decreased the DNA-binding activities of STAT5b and STAT3, to the target gene promoters in MDA-MB 231 or co-transfected COS-7 cells. We confirmed that MSM significantly decreased the relative luciferase activities indicating crosstalk between STAT5b/IGF-1R, STAT5b/HSP90α, and STAT3/VEGF. To confirm these findings in vivo, xenografts were established in Balb/c athymic nude mice with MDA-MB 231 cells and MSM was administered for 30 days. Concurring to our in vitro analysis, these xenografts showed decreased expression of STAT3, STAT5b, IGF-1R and VEGF. Through in vitro and in vivo analysis, we confirmed that MSM can effectively regulate multiple targets including STAT3/VEGF and STAT5b/IGF-1R. These are the major molecules involved in tumor development, progression, and metastasis. Thus, we strongly recommend the use of MSM as a trial drug for treating all types of breast cancers including triple-negative cancers

Effective action in a higher-spin background

We consider a free massless scalar field coupled to an infinite tower of background higher-spin gauge fields via minimal coupling to the traceless conserved currents. The set of Abelian gauge transformations is deformed to the non-Abelian group of unitary operators acting on the scalar field. The gauge invariant effective action is computed perturbatively in the external fields. The structure of the various (divergent or finite) terms is determined. In particular, the quadratic part of the logarithmically divergent (or of the finite) term is expressed in terms of curvatures and related to conformal higher-spin gravity. The generalized higher-spin Weyl anomalies are also determined. The relation with the theory of interacting higher-spin gauge fields on anti de Sitter spacetime via the holographic correspondence is discussed.Comment: 40 pages, Some errors and typos corrected, Version published in JHE

Effect of promoter architecture on the cell-to-cell variability in gene expression

According to recent experimental evidence, the architecture of a promoter, defined as the number, strength and regulatory role of the operators that control the promoter, plays a major role in determining the level of cell-to-cell variability in gene expression. These quantitative experiments call for a corresponding modeling effort that addresses the question of how changes in promoter architecture affect noise in gene expression in a systematic rather than case-by-case fashion. In this article, we make such a systematic investigation, based on a simple microscopic model of gene regulation that incorporates stochastic effects. In particular, we show how operator strength and operator multiplicity affect this variability. We examine different modes of transcription factor binding to complex promoters (cooperative, independent, simultaneous) and how each of these affects the level of variability in transcription product from cell-to-cell. We propose that direct comparison between in vivo single-cell experiments and theoretical predictions for the moments of the probability distribution of mRNA number per cell can discriminate between different kinetic models of gene regulation.Comment: 35 pages, 6 figures, Submitte

Serum Levels of Advanced Glycation End Products Are Associated with In-Stent Restenosis in Diabetic Patients

The formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), in various tissues has been known to enhance immunoinflammatory reactions and local oxidant stresses in long standing diabetes. Recently, AGEs have been reported to play a role in neointimal formation in animal models of arterial injury. We attempted to determine whether the serum levels of AGEs are associated with coronary restenosis in diabetic patients. Blood samples were collected from diabetic patients with coronary artery disease undergoing stent implantation and the serum levels of AGEs were analyzed by the fluorescent intensity method. The development of in-stent restenosis (ISR) was evaluated by a 6-month follow-up coronary angiography. A total of 263 target lesions were evaluated, in 203 patients. The ISR rate in the high-AGE (>170 U/ml) group (40.1%) was significantly higher than in the low-AGE group (≤170 U/ml) (19.6%) (p<0.001). Furthermore, multivariate analysis revealed that a high level of serum AGEs is an independent risk factor for the development of ISR (odds ratio, 2.659; 95% CI, 1.431-4.940; p=0.002). The serum levels of AGEs constitute an excellent predictive factor for ISR, and should be one of the guidelines for medical therapy and interventional strategy to prevent ISR in diabetic patients