3D Inversion of Automated Resistivity Profiling (ARP) Data

Electrical resistivity is a well established and widely used prospection method. The technique has also become a valuable and inseparable tool in archaeological site evaluation and excavation planning (Clark, 1990). Nowadays, it is routinely used in mapping the sub-surface resistivity variation of an archaeological site. The compilation of maps that transform the geophysical results into images that resemble a plane view of buried relics comprises the ultimate goal of geoelectrical prospectio..

3D Inversion of Automated Resistivity Profiling (ARP) Data

Electrical resistivity is a well established and widely used prospection method. The technique has also become a valuable and inseparable tool in archaeological site evaluation and excavation planning (Clark, 1990). Nowadays, it is routinely used in mapping the sub-surface resistivity variation of an archaeological site. The compilation of maps that transform the geophysical results into images that resemble a plane view of buried relics comprises the ultimate goal of geoelectrical prospectio..

Tumuli exploration using surface 3D Electrical Resistivity Tomography

Introduction The direct current resistivity method is nowadays a well established geophysical technique, used routinely and successfully in the detection and mapping of concealed subsurface structures, like walls, ditches and anthropogenic or natural cavities (Dahlin and Zhou, 2004). In archaeological geophysics, tombs constitute the most common subterranean manmade cavities of the greatest archaeological and historical importance. Several successful case studies in the detection of tombs hav..

The anti-aging gene KLOTHO is a novel target for epigenetic silencing in human cervical carcinoma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Klotho </it>was originally characterized as an anti-aging gene that predisposed Klotho-deficient mice to a premature aging-like syndrome. Recently, KLOTHO was reported to function as a secreted Wnt antagonist and as a tumor suppressor. Epigenetic gene silencing of secreted Wnt antagonists is considered a common event in a wide range of human malignancies. Abnormal activation of the canonical Wnt pathway due to epigenetic deregulation of Wnt antagonists is thought to play a crucial role in cervical tumorigenesis. In this study, we examined epigenetic silencing of <it>KLOTHO </it>in human cervical carcinoma.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Loss of <it>KLOTHO </it>mRNA was observed in several cervical cancer cell lines and in invasive carcinoma samples, but not during the early, preinvasive phase of primary cervical tumorigenesis. <it>KLOTHO </it>mRNA was restored after treatment with either the DNA demethylating agent 2'-deoxy-5-azacytidine or histone deacetylase inhibitor trichostatin A. Methylation-specific PCR and bisulfite genomic sequencing analysis of the promoter region of <it>KLOTHO </it>revealed CpG hypermethylation in non-<it>KLOTHO</it>-expressing cervical cancer cell lines and in 41% (9/22) of invasive carcinoma cases. Histone deacetylation was also found to be the major epigenetic silencing mechanism for <it>KLOTHO </it>in the SiHa cell line. Ectopic expression of the secreted form of KLOTHO restored anti-Wnt signaling and anti-clonogenic activity in the CaSki cell line including decreased active β-catenin levels, suppression of T-cell factor/β-catenin target genes, such as <it>c-MYC </it>and <it>CCND1</it>, and inhibition of colony growth.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Epigenetic silencing of <it>KLOTHO </it>may occur during the late phase of cervical tumorigenesis, and consequent functional loss of KLOTHO as the secreted Wnt antagonist may contribute to aberrant activation of the canonical Wnt pathway in cervical carcinoma.</p

Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies in East Asian-ancestry populations identifies four new loci for body mass index

Recent genetic association studies have identified 55 genetic loci associated with obesity or body mass index (BMI). The vast majority, 51 loci, however, were identified in European-ancestry populations. We conducted a meta-analysis of associations between BMI and ∼2.5 million genotyped or imputed single nucleotide polymorphisms among 86 757 individuals of Asian ancestry, followed by in silico and de novo replication among 7488–47 352 additional Asian-ancestry individuals. We identified four novel BMI-associated loci near the KCNQ1 (rs2237892, P = 9.29 × 10−13), ALDH2/MYL2 (rs671, P = 3.40 × 10−11; rs12229654, P = 4.56 × 10−9), ITIH4 (rs2535633, P = 1.77 × 10−10) and NT5C2 (rs11191580, P = 3.83 × 10−8) genes. The association of BMI with rs2237892, rs671 and rs12229654 was significantly stronger among men than among women. Of the 51 BMI-associated loci initially identified in European-ancestry populations, we confirmed eight loci at the genome-wide significance level (P < 5.0 × 10−8) and an additional 14 at P < 1.0 × 10−3 with the same direction of effect as reported previously. Findings from this analysis expand our knowledge of the genetic basis of obesity

Tuning the TCP Congestion Control Parameters to Optimize Client- Server Systems

The demand of high volume data communication over the internet is mounting day by day. In general, the performance of a communication system depends on the loss of data packets. It happens as there are multiple paths exist in wireless networks. For the reliable and secure data communication over Internet Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is playing a significant role. On the development of TCP, a number of approaches are already designed and tested in the communication system. Generally, TCP congestion parameters are set in sender site in a communication system. In this paper, we investigate the download system performance tuning the TCP congestion parameters at the Ethernet port of receiver side. Based on the experimental study, it is concluded that tuning TCP parameters at receiving side improves the download system performance by reducing packet loss, increasing download speed and maintain stable I/O and time/sequence graphs

Identification of circulating endorepellin LG3 fragment: Potential use as a serological biomarker for breast cancer

Comparative proteome analysis was performed on the cultured media of human nontumor and malignant breast cell lines, Hs578Bst and Hs578T, respectively, in search of a serological biomarker(s) for breast cancer. Proteins in the conditioned media were separated by 2-D PAGE and then visualized by silver-staining. Eight proteins changed differentially by more than twofold were identified by MALDI-TOF/TOF MS. Among the proteins identified, the terminal laminin-like globular (LG3) domain of endorepellin, which was recently reported as an antiangiogenesis factor, was decreased in the cancer cell line. We confirmed the bone morphogenic protein-1 (BMP-1) mediated cleavage site on the N-terminus of endorepellin LG3 fragment. This finding suggests that the LG3 fragment is specifically released by a BMP-1 driven limited proteolytic process. The protein was also detected in plasma by Western blot analysis and selected reaction monitoring (SRM). The plasma level of the endorepellin LG3 fragment was significantly lower in breast cancer patients compared to healthy donors (p = 0.017; n = 12). The LG3 protein concentration in the control plasma was measured at approximately 3.7 pmol/mL compared to 1.8 pmol/mL in plasma from the cancer patients. We suggest that these results support the potential use of the endorepellin LG3 fragment as a new serological biomarker for breast cancer.N