1,3-Bis(2-nitro­phen­oxy)propan-2-ol

In the title compound, C15H14N2O7, the planes of the two benzene rings form a dihedral angle of 33.16 (17)°. In the crystal, inter­molecular hydrogen bonds involveing the OH group and nitro O atoms link the mol­ecules into chains propagating along the a axis

Ovarian cancer classification based on dimensionality reduction for SELDI-TOF data

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Recent advances in proteomics technologies such as SELDI-TOF mass spectrometry has shown promise in the detection of early stage cancers. However, dimensionality reduction and classification are considerable challenges in statistical machine learning. We therefore propose a novel approach for dimensionality reduction and tested it using published high-resolution SELDI-TOF data for ovarian cancer.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We propose a method based on statistical moments to reduce feature dimensions. After refining and <it>t</it>-testing, SELDI-TOF data are divided into several intervals. Four statistical moments (mean, variance, skewness and kurtosis) are calculated for each interval and are used as representative variables. The high dimensionality of the data can thus be rapidly reduced. To improve efficiency and classification performance, the data are further used in kernel PLS models. The method achieved average sensitivity of 0.9950, specificity of 0.9916, accuracy of 0.9935 and a correlation coefficient of 0.9869 for 100 five-fold cross validations. Furthermore, only one control was misclassified in leave-one-out cross validation.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The proposed method is suitable for analyzing high-throughput proteomics data.</p

Behaviour of Reinforced Concrete Beams With Circular Transverse Openings Under Static Loads

Transverse opening in a reinforced concrete beam allows the crossing of mechanical and electrical services through the beam. However, it affects the strength of a beam. Understanding its structural behaviour is crucial to ensure a safe design of the beam. For that, an experimental study was carried out on reinforced concrete beams with circular transverse openings. The four-point load test was conducted to study the effects of the size and the position of the opening on the beam performance under the shear and flexural loads. In addition, three reinforcing methods for the opening were tested. The beams were evaluated in terms of the load-displacement responses, mechanical properties, deflections, and failure modes. The opening with the diameter not exceeding 0.25 times beam height affected about 20% of beam strength (without reinforcements at the opening). The diagonal bar reinforcing method effectively restored the beam strength for the opening size not exceeding 1/3 of beam height. The equation model proposed conservatively predicted the ultimate capacity of the beam with a transverse opening

Dimethyl 2,2-bis­(2-cyano­ethyl)malonate

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C11H14N2O4, contains one half-mol­ecule; a twofold rotation axis passes through the central C atom. Inter­molecular C—H⋯N hydrogen bonds link the mol­ecules into a one-dimensional supra­molecular structure

Transferrin-Liposome-Mediated Systemic p53 Gene Therapy in Combination with Radiation Results in Regression of Human Head and Neck Cancer Xenografts

This is the published version, also available here: http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/10430349950016357.The use of cationic liposomes as nonviral vehicles for the delivery of therapeutic molecules is becoming increasingly prevalent in the field of gene therapy. We have previously demonstrated that the use of the transferrin ligand (Tf) to target a cationic liposome delivery system resulted in a significant increase in the transfection efficiency of the complex [Xu, L., Pirollo, K.F., and Chang, E.H. (1997). Hum. Gene Ther. 8, 467-475]. Delivery of wild-type (wt) p53 to a radiation-resistant squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) cell line via this ligand-targeted, liposome complex was also able to revert the radiation resistant phenotype of these cells in vitro. Here we optimized the Tf/liposome/DNA ratio of the complex (LipT) for maximum tumor cell targeting, even in the presence of serum. The efficient reestablishment of wtp53 function in these SCCHN tumor cells in vitro, via the LipT complex, restored the apoptotic pathway, resulting in a significant increase in radiation-induced apoptosis that was directly proportional to the level of exogenous wtp53 in the tumor cells. More significantly, intravenous administration of LipT-p53 markedly sensitized established SCCHN nude mouse xenograft tumors to radiotherapy. The combination of systemic LipT-p53 gene therapy and radiation resulted in complete tumor regression and inhibition of their recurrence even 6 months after the end of all treatment. These results indicate that this tumor-specific, ligand-liposome delivery system for p53 gene therapy, when used in concert with conventional radiotherapy, can provide a new and more effective means of cancer treatment

Estimating the crop leaf area index using hyperspectral remote sensing

AbstractThe leaf area index (LAI) is an important vegetation parameter, which is used widely in many applications. Remote sensing techniques are known to be effective but inexpensive methods for estimating the LAI of crop canopies. During the last two decades, hyperspectral remote sensing has been employed increasingly for crop LAI estimation, which requires unique technical procedures compared with conventional multispectral data, such as denoising and dimension reduction. Thus, we provide a comprehensive and intensive overview of crop LAI estimation based on hyperspectral remote sensing techniques. First, we compare hyperspectral data and multispectral data by highlighting their potential and limitations in LAI estimation. Second, we categorize the approaches used for crop LAI estimation based on hyperspectral data into three types: approaches based on statistical models, physical models (i.e., canopy reflectance models), and hybrid inversions. We summarize and evaluate the theoretical basis and different methods employed by these approaches (e.g., the characteristic parameters of LAI, regression methods for constructing statistical predictive models, commonly applied physical models, and inversion strategies for physical models). Thus, numerous models and inversion strategies are organized in a clear conceptual framework. Moreover, we highlight the technical difficulties that may hinder crop LAI estimation, such as the “curse of dimensionality” and the ill-posed problem. Finally, we discuss the prospects for future research based on the previous studies described in this review