Potato and grape polyphenols, respectively, suppress high-fat diet-elevated oxidative stress/innate inflammation markers in porcine model and induce apoptosis in HCT-116 p53 +/+ and p53 -/- human colon cancer cell lines in vitro

2014 Summer.To view the abstract, please see the full text of the document

Fast Parallel Algorithms on a Class of Graph Structures With Applications in Relational Databases and Computer Networks.

The quest for efficient parallel algorithms for graph related problems necessitates not only fast computational schemes but also requires insights into their inherent structures that lend themselves to elegant problem solving methods. Towards this objective efficient parallel algorithms on a class of hypergraphs called acyclic hypergraphs and directed hypergraphs are developed in this thesis. Acyclic hypergraphs are precisely chordal graphs and their subclasses, and they have applications in relational databases and computer networks. In this thesis, first, we present efficient parallel algorithms for the following problems on graphs. (1) determining whether a graph is strongly chordal, ptolemaic, or a block graph. If the graph is strongly chordal, determine the strongly perfect vertex elimination ordering. (2) determining the minimal set of edges needed to make an arbitrary graph strongly chordal, ptolemaic, or a block graph. (3) determining the minimum cardinality dominating set, connected dominating set, total dominating set, and the domatic number of a strongly chordal graph. Secondly, we show that the query implication problem (Q\sb1\ \to\ Q\sb2) on two queries, which is to determine whether the data retrieved by query Q\sb1 is always a subset of the data retrieved by query Q\sb2, is not even in NP and in fact complete in \Pi\sb2\sp{p}. We present several \u27fine-grain\u27 analyses of the query implication problem and show that the query implication can be solved in polynomial time given chordal queries. Thirdly, we develop efficient parallel algorithms for manipulating directed hypergraphs H such as finding a directed path in H, closure of H, and minimum equivalent hypergraph of H. We show that finding a directed path in a directed hypergraph is inherently sequential. For directed hypergraphs with fixed degree and diameter we present NC algorithms for manipulations. Directed hypergraphs are representation schemes for functional dependencies in relational databases. Finally, we also present an efficient parallel algorithm for multi-dimensional range search. We show that a set of points in a rectangular parallelepiped can be obtained in O(logn) time with only 2.log\sp2 n $-$ 10.logn + 14 processors on a EREW-PRAM. A nontrivial implementation technique on the hypercube parallel architecture is also presented. Our method can be easily generalized to the case of d-dimensional range search

Resveratrol suppresses IGF-1 induced human colon cancer cell proliferation and elevates apoptosis via suppression of IGF-1R/Wnt and activation of p53 signaling pathways

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Obesity is a global phenomenon and is associated with various types of cancer, including colon cancer. There is a growing interest for safe and effective bioactive compounds that suppress the risk for obesity-promoted colon cancer. Resveratrol (trans-3, 4', 5,-trihydroxystilbene), a stilbenoid found in the skin of red grapes and peanuts suppresses many types of cancers by regulating cell proliferation and apoptosis through a variety of mechanisms, however, resveratrol effects on obesity-promoted colon cancer are not clearly established.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We investigated the anti-proliferative effects of resveratrol on HT-29 and SW480 human colon cancer cells in the presence and absence of insulin like growth factor-1 (IGF-1; elevated during obesity) and elucidated the mechanisms of action using IGF-1R siRNA in HT-29 cells which represents advanced colon carcinogenesis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Resveratrol (100-150 μM) exhibited anti-proliferative properties in HT-29 cells even after IGF-1 exposure by arresting G₀/G₁-S phase cell cycle progression through p27 stimulation and cyclin D1 suppression. Treatment with resveratrol suppressed IGF-1R protein levels and concurrently attenuated the downstream Akt/Wnt signaling pathways that play a critical role in cell proliferation. Targeted suppression of IGF-1R using IGF-1R siRNA also affected these signaling pathways in a similar manner. Resveratrol treatment induced apoptosis by activating tumor suppressor p53 protein, whereas IGF-1R siRNA treatment did not affect apoptosis. Our data suggests that resveratrol not only suppresses cell proliferation by inhibiting IGF-1R and its downstream signaling pathways similar to that of IGF-1R siRNA but also enhances apoptosis via activation of the p53 pathway.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>For the first time, we report that resveratrol suppresses colon cancer cell proliferation and elevates apoptosis even in the presence of IGF-1 via suppression of IGF-1R/Akt/Wnt signaling pathways and activation of p53, suggesting its potential role as a chemotherapeutic agent.</p

Queryable Compression for Massively Streaming Social Networks

The social networks of today are a set of massive, dynamically changing graph structures. Each of these graphs contain a set of nodes (individuals) and a set of edges among the nodes (relationships). The choice of representation of a graph determines what information is easy to obtain from it. However, many social network graphs are so large that even their basic representations (e.g. adjacency lists) do not fit in main memory. Hence an ongoing field of study has focused on designing compressed representations of graphs that facilitate certain query functions.This work is based on representing dynamic social networks that we call streaming graphs where edges stream into our compressed representation. The crux of this work is the use of a novel data structure for streaming graphs that is based on an indexed array of compressed binary trees that builds the graph directly without using any temporary storage structures. We provide fast access methods for edge existence (does an edge exist between two nodes?), neighbor queries (list a node’s neighbors), and streaming operations (add/remove nodes/edges). We test our algorithms on public, anonymized, massive graphs such as Friendster, LiveJournal, Pokec, Twitter, and others. Our empirical evaluation is based on several parameters including time to compress, memory required by the compression algorithm, size of compressed graph, and time to execute queries. Our experimental results show that our current approach outperforms previous approaches in various key respects such as compression time, compression memory, compression ratio, and query execution times and hence the best to date overall

Resveratrol suppresses human colon cancer cell proliferation and induces apoptosis via targeting the pentose phosphate and the talin-FAK signaling pathways-A proteomic approach

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We and others have previously reported that resveratrol (RSV) suppresses colon cancer cell proliferation and elevates apoptosis <it>in vitro </it>and/or <it>in vivo</it>, however molecular mechanisms are not fully elucidated. Particularly, little information is available on RSV's effects on metabolic pathways and the cell-extra cellular matrix (ECM) communication that are critical for cancer cell growth. To identify important targets of RSV, we analyzed whole protein fractions from HT-29 advanced human colon cancer cell line treated with solvent control, IGF-1 (10 nM) and RSV (150 μM) using LC/MS/MS-Mud PIT (Multidimensional Protein Identification Technology).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Pentose phosphate pathway (PPP), a vital metabolic pathway for cell cycle progression, was elevated and suppressed by IGF-1 and RSV, respectively in the HT-29 cell line. Enzymatic assays confirmed RSV suppression of glucose-6 phosphate dehydrogenase (rate limiting) and transketolase, key enzymes of the PPP. RSV (150 μM) suppressed, whereas IGF-1 (10 nM) elevated focal adhesion complex (FAC) proteins, talin and pFAK, critical for the cell-ECM communication. Western blotting analyses confirmed the suppression or elevation of these proteins in HT-29 cancer cells treated with RSV or IGF-1, respectively.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Proteomic analysis enabled us to establish PPP and the talin-pFAK as targets of RSV which suppress cancer cell proliferation and induce apoptosis in the colon cancer cell line HT-29. RSV (150 μM) suppressed these pathways in the presence and absence of IGF-1, suggesting its role as a chemo-preventive agent even in obese condition.</p

A New Multi-core CPU Resource Availability Prediction Model for Concurrent Processes

The efficiency of a multi-core architecture is directly related to the mechanisms that map the threads (processes in execution) to the cores. Determining the CPU resource availability of a multi-core architecture based on the characteristics of the threads that are in execution is the art of system performance prediction. Prediction of CPU resource availability is important in the context of making process assignment, load balancing, and scheduling decisions. In distributed infrastructure, CPU resources are allocated on demand for a chosen set of compute nodes. In this paper, a prediction model is derived for multi-core architectures and empirical evaluations are performed with real-world benchmark programs in a heterogeneous environment to demonstrate the accuracy of the proposed model. This model can be utilized in various time-sensitive applications like resource allocation in a cloud environment, task distribution (determining the order for faster processing time) in distributed systems, and others.Ye

Supporting self-management for people with hypertension:a meta-review of quantitative and qualitative systematic reviews

OBJECTIVES: Globally, healthcare policy promotes supported self-management as a strategy for people with long-term conditions. This meta-review aimed to explore how people with hypertension make sense of their condition, to assess the effectiveness of supported self-management in hypertension, and to identify effective components of support. METHODS: From a search of eight databases (January 1993-October 2012; update June 2017) we included systematic syntheses of qualitative studies of patients' experiences, and systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials evaluating the impact of supported self-management on blood pressure and medication adherence. We used meta-ethnography, meta-Forest plots and narrative analysis to synthesise the data. RESULTS: Six qualitative and 29 quantitative reviews provided data from 98 and 446 unique studies, respectively. Self-management support consistently reduced SBP (by between 2 and 6 mmHg), and DBP (by between 1 and 5 mmHg). Information about hypertension and treatment, home BP monitoring (HBPM) and feedback (including telehealth) were widely used in effective interventions. Patients' perceptions of a disease with multiple symptoms contrasted with the professional view of an asymptomatic condition. HBPM, in the context of a supportive patient-professional relationship, changed perceptions of the significance of symptoms and fostered confidence in ability to self-manage hypertension. CONCLUSION: Our systematic qualitative and quantitative meta-reviews tell complementary stories. Supported self-management can improve blood pressure control. Interventions are complex and encompass a broad range of support strategies. HBPM (with or without telehealth) within the context of a supportive patient-professional partnership can bridge the gap between medical and lay perspectives of hypertension and enable effective self-management.The PRISMS meta-review was funded by the National Institute for Health Research Health Services and Delivery Research Programme (project numbers 11/1014/04). H.P. was supported by a Primary Care Research Career Award from the Chief Scientist’s Office of the Scottish Government at the time of the PRISMS study. D.D. and S.J.C.T. are also supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care North Thames at Bart’s Health NHS Trust (NIHR CLAHRC North Thames)