To obtain a good approximation for data fitting with a spline, frequently we have to deal with knots as variables. The problem to be solved then becomes a continuous nonlinear and multivariate ...optimization problem with many local optima. Therefore, it is difficult to obtain the global optimum. In this paper, we propose a method for solving this problem by using a real-coded genetic algorithm. Our method can treat not only data with a smooth underlying function, but also data with an underlying function having discontinuous points and/or cusps. We search for the best model among candidate models by using the Bayes Information Criterion (BIC). With this, we can appropriately determine the number and locations of knots automatically and simultaneously. Five examples of data fitting are given to show the performance of our method.
Facilitative glucose transporter-1 (GLUT1) is abundant in trophoblast cells and is responsible for glucose transport in the placenta. However, the change in GLUT expression in human placenta upon ...trophoblast differentiation remains to be clarified. Therefore, we first examined the localization of GLUT1 and GLUT3 using human first-trimester chorionic villi. We found that GLUT1 and GLUT3 were mainly localized to syncytiotrophoblast and cytotrophoblast cells respectively. We analyzed whether placental GLUT1 and GLUT3 expression changes during differentiation using a human choriocarcinoma (BeWo) cell line which is known to show functional and morphological differentiation in response to cAMP in culture. Treatment of BeWo cells with 8-bromo-cyclicAMP (8-bromo-cAMP) increased the level of hCG secretion and induced cell fusion leading to the formation of large syncytia. Treatment of BeWo cells with 8-bromo-cAMP also resulted in a significant increase in glucose uptake on days 2-3 of culture. The stimulating effect of 8-bromo-cAMP on glucose uptake was concentration dependent. Northern and immunoblot analyses revealed that the levels of mRNA and protein of GLUT1, but not of GLUT3, were significantly increased by 8-bromo-cAMP. These findings suggest that 8-bromo-cAMP stimulates GLUT1 expression with differentiation in BeWo cells.
The transformation rate of the local superstructure from c(4
×
2) to p(2
×
2) is studied on the clean Ge(0
0
1) surface at 80
K by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). The transformation is ...reversible and shows hysteresis for the direction of the sample bias voltage change. The rate was found to depend on the width of the terrace. The results are explained by the mechanism that a topological defect between c(4
×
2) and p(2
×
2) structures are formed and moved by the electronic excitation from the tunneling electron to the Ge lattice. The electronic structure of the defect obtained by first-principles calculation is consistent with the bias-dependent STM images.
SiC thin films coated on plastic materials are investigated for the protection from solar ultraviolet-radiation. Using hexamethyldisilane (HMDS) as a source material, we attempted to deposit SiC thin ...films on a polycarbonate (PC) resin at room temperature by a cathode deposition method in the capacitively coupled parallel plate rf CVD. It was found that the uniformity, deposition rate and film characteristics were much depended on the rf power and the substrate temperature. The deposition rate of the SiC thin film rises with increasing the rf power and decreases with the substrate temperature. As increased the rf power, the cut-off wavelength in optical transmittance characteristics shifts to the longer one. Furthermore, the SiC-coated PC plates exhibited remarkably to improve weatherability in a xenon arc test.
Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is one of the most aggressive forms of cancer with no curative therapies available. To date, strategies to target ATC by immunotherapy have not been evaluated. We ...investigated whether ATC would be a suitable target for natural killer (NK) cell-based immunotherapy.
We first established seven new cell lines from ATC tumors, three from papillary thyroid carcinoma tumors and analyzed them together with eight additional ATC cell lines. Cells were analyzed for sensitivity to lysis by NK cells and their ability to chemoattract and regulate the activity of NK cells. In addition, fresh tumor samples and peripheral blood from six patients with ATC were analyzed for NK cell infiltration and phenotype.
We observed that ATC cell lines are sensitive to lysis by ex vivo expanded NK cells and that the lysis was abrogated upon blockade of NKG2D. Sensitivity of thyroid cancer cell lines to NK cell-mediated lysis correlated with surface expression of UL16-binding protein 2 on tumor cells. Moreover, ATC cell lines produced high levels of CXCL10 and stimulated migration of expanded NK cells and ATC tumors were enriched for NK cells expressing the cognate chemokine receptor CXCR3. However, compared with NK cells in peripheral blood, ATC tumor-derived NK cells displayed a suppressed phenotype with a downregulated expression of NKG2D. In vitro, suppression of NK cell-mediated lysis and NKG2D expression by ATC cells was restored upon neutralization of prostaglandin-E2.
ATC cell lines are sensitive to NK cell-mediated lysis via ULBP2/5/6 and chemoattract CXCR3-positive NK cells. Patients with ATC may benefit from NK cell-based immunotherapy.
The International Study of Unruptured Intracranial Aneurysms (ISUIA) data raised new controversy regarding the threshold size that requires treatment. In particular, this study has been criticized ...for disagreeing with previous epidemiological data.
The author first used a Markov model to simulate the natural history of intracranial aneurysms, making three key assumptions based on prospective ISUIA data and other recent reports: that the rate of de novo aneurysm formation is constant after the age of 20 years; that unruptured aneurysms gain volume at a constant rate; and that unruptured aneurysms rupture at a volume-dependent rate. Next, he expressed outcomes for patients with unruptured aneurysms in terms of expected number of quality-adjusted life years (QALY) and compared two hypothetical cohorts, one receiving treatment and the other not being treated. These assumptions enabled the construction of a mathematical model with epidemiologically compatible findings. The benefits of treatment for unruptured aneurysms were highly influenced by aneurysm size and were calculated as -0.28, 0.25, and 1.07 QALY for patients having unruptured aneurysms with diameters of 7, 10, and 13 mm, respectively.
Under the author's assumptions, the prospective ISUIA data may be consistent with epidemiological findings. Prophylactic treatment for unruptured aneurysms may produce some benefits in large aneurysms if acceptable treatment risks can be assured, but it is not likely to offer improvement over the natural history for patients with small aneurysms.
Systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) without infection is a well-known phenomenon that accompanies various acute cerebral insults. We sought to determine whether the initial SIRS score was ...associated with outcome in subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH).
In 103 consecutive patients with SAH, the occurrence of SIRS was assessed according to the presence of >/=2 of the following: temperature of <36 degrees C or >38 degrees C, heart rate of >90 bpm, respiratory rate of >20 breaths/min, and white blood cell count of <4000/mm(3) or >12 000/mm(3). SIRS criteria and other prognostic parameters were evaluated as predictors of dichotomous Glasgow Outcome Scale score.
SIRS was highly related to poor clinical grade (Hunt and Hess clinical grading scale), a large amount of SAH on CT (Fisher CT group), and high plasma glucose concentration on admission. By univariate analysis, the occurrence of SIRS was associated with higher mortality and morbidity rates than was the nonoccurrence (P<0.001). Among individual SIRS criteria, heart rate (P=0.003), respiration rate (P=0.003), and white blood cell count (P=0.03) were significant outcome predictors. By multivariate logistic regression analysis, the presence of SIRS independently predicted outcome. SIRS carried an increased risk of subsequent intracranial complications such as vasospasm and normal pressure hydrocephalus, as well as systemic complications.
In SAH patients, SIRS on admission reflected the extent of tissue damage at onset and predicted further tissue disruption, producing clinical worsening and, ultimately, a poor outcome.
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