Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Several Peaks (several + peak)
Selected AbstractsUrinary biomarker profiling in transitional cell carcinomaINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CANCER, Issue 11 2006Nicholas P. Munro Abstract Urinary biomarkers or profiles that allow noninvasive detection of recurrent transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the bladder are urgently needed. We obtained duplicate proteomic (SELDI) profiles from 227 subjects (118 TCC, 77 healthy controls and 32 controls with benign urological conditions) and used linear mixed effects models to identify peaks that are differentially expressed between TCC and controls and within TCC subgroups. A Random Forest classifier was trained on 130 profiles to develop an algorithm to predict the presence of TCC in a randomly selected initial test set (n = 54) and an independent validation set (n = 43) several months later. Twenty two peaks were differentially expressed between all TCC and controls (p < 10,7). However potential confounding effects of age, sex and analytical run were identified. In an age-matched sub-set, 23 peaks were differentially expressed between TCC and combined benign and healthy controls at the 0.005 significance level. Using the Random Forest classifier, TCC was predicted with 71.7% sensitivity and 62.5% specificity in the initial set and with 78.3% sensitivity and 65.0% specificity in the validation set after 6 months, compared with controls. Several peaks of importance were also identified in the linear mixed effects model. We conclude that SELDI profiling of urine samples can identify patients with TCC with comparable sensitivities and specificities to current tumor marker tests. This is the first time that reproducibility has been demonstrated on an independent test set analyzed several months later. Identification of the relevant peaks may facilitate multiplex marker assay development for detection of recurrent disease. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Effect of doping location on photoconductive spectrum of SiGe quantum dotsPHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (A) APPLICATIONS AND MATERIALS SCIENCE, Issue 2 2007S. E. Schacham Abstract Comparative analysis of photoconductive (PC) spectra obtained from SiGe quantum dots grown on Si shows large dependence on the location of doping. The sample with doping in the silicon barrier has much larger response than the sample in which the doping was placed in the wetting layer, i.e. in the self assembled dots. This is due to the penetration of the wave-function into the barrier in the first structure, as shown by the 1-D simulation. Several peaks in the infrared were observed, ranging from 70 to 220 meV, associated with inter-level transitions of holes in the valance band of the dot or the wetting layer. The overall spectra and the relative intensity of the various peaks change drastically with bias magnitude and polarity. The PC signals increase super-linearly with bias, indicating that the carriers are released into the quasi-continuum through tunneling. (© 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Antioxidant polyphenols from the mycelial culture of the medicinal fungi Inonotus xeranticus and Phellinus linteusJOURNAL OF APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 6 2008J.-Y. Jung Abstract Aims:, The medicinal fungi Inonotus xeranticus and Phellinus linteus in the family Hymenochaetaceae have been used as traditional medicines for the treatment of various diseases. However, the compound responsible for the antioxidant activity is still unknown. Therefore, this study was conducted to characterize the antioxidant substances present in cultured broths made from these fungi. Methods and Results:, Antioxidant fractions of the cultured broths obtained from I. xeranticus and P. linteus were analysed using reversed-phase HPLC, which revealed several peaks that exhibited a potent free radical scavenging activity. To identify these antioxidant peaks, an I. xeranticus strain was mass-cultured, and the cultured broth was separated using antioxidant activity-guided fractionation. Four major active substances were purified and identified as hispidin and its dimers, 3,14,-bihispidinyl, hypholomine B, and 1,1-distyrylpyrylethan based on spectroscopic analyses. All compounds exhibited a significant scavenging activity against these radical species in a concentration-dependent manner. Conclusions:, Antioxidant substances found in the cultured broths of the medicinal fungi I. xeranticus and P. linteus were identified as hispidin and its dimers, 3,14,-bihispidinyl, hypholomine B, and 1,1-distyrylpyrylethan. Significance and Impact of the Study:, Polyphenol antioxidants were isolated from the cultured broth of the medicinal fungi I. xeranticus and P. linteus and identified based on extensive spectroscopic analyses. These compounds exhibited a strong antioxidant activity. [source] The effect of interstitial hydrogen on the electronic structure of the B2 FeAl alloyPHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (B) BASIC SOLID STATE PHYSICS, Issue 10 2007Estela A. González Abstract The electronic structure and bonding in a B2 Fe,Al alloy with and without hydrogen as an interstitial atom were studied within the framework of the density functional theory and the findings compared with previous results in Fe an Al. The hydrogen absorption turns out to be a favorable process. The hydrogen was found near an Al octahedral site, the Al,H distance being shorter than that of Fe,H. The density of states (DOS) curves show several peaks below the d metal band which is made up mostly of hydrogen based states (>50% H1s) while the metal contribution includes mainly s- and p-orbitals. An electron transfer of nearby 0.14 e, comes from the metal to the H. The overlap population values reveal metal,metal bond breaking, the intermetallic bond being the most affected. The H bond mainly with the Al atoms and the reported Fe,H overlap population is much lower than that corresponding to FePd alloys and BCC Fe. The changes in the overlap population show the Fe,Al bond is weakening nearly 53% after H absorption, while the Fe,Fe bond is only weakened 23%. (© 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) in C57BL/6 mice detected through proteomics screening of the amniotic fluid,BIRTH DEFECTS RESEARCH, Issue 4 2008Susmita Datta Abstract BACKGROUND: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), a severe consequence of the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, is associated with craniofacial defects, mental retardation, and stunted growth. Previous studies in C57BL/6J and C57BL/6N mice provide evidence that alcohol-induced pathogenesis follows early changes in gene expression within specific molecular pathways in the embryonic headfold. Whereas the former (B6J) pregnancies carry a high-risk for dysmorphogenesis following maternal exposure to 2.9 g/kg alcohol (two injections spaced 4.0 h apart on gestation day 8), the latter (B6N) pregnancies carry a low-risk for malformations. The present study used this murine model to screen amniotic fluid for biomarkers that could potentially discriminate between FAS-positive and FAS-negative pregnancies. METHODS: B6J and B6N litters were treated with alcohol (exposed) or saline (control) on day 8 of gestation. Amniotic fluid aspirated on day 17 (n = 6 replicate litters per group) was subjected to trypsin digestion for analysis by matrix-assisted laser desorption,time of flight mass spectrometry with the aid of denoising algorithms, statistical testing, and classification methods. RESULTS: We identified several peaks in the proteomics screen that were reduced consistently and specifically in exposed B6J litters. Preliminary characterization by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry and multidimensional protein identification mapped the reduced peaks to alpha fetoprotein (AFP). The predictive strength of AFP deficiency as a biomarker for FAS-positive litters was confirmed by area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. CONCLUSIONS: These findings in genetically susceptible mice support clinical observations in maternal serum that implicate a decrease in AFP levels following prenatal alcohol damage. Birth Defects Research (Part A), 2008. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Serum alanine aminotransferase levels and survival after hepatectomy in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and hepatitis C virus-associated liver cirrhosisCANCER SCIENCE, Issue 12 2003Kazuo Tarao We examined whether sustained alleviation of inflammation as monitored by serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels was associated with longer survival in hepatectomized hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with hepatitis C virus-associated liver cirrhosis (HCV-LC). Thirty-four hepatectomized patients with HCV-LC and HCC as a single nodule, and for whom more than 5 years had elapsed after the hepatectomy, were studied. They had no histologic evidence of portal or hepatic vein invasion. They were subdivided into two groups according to their serum ALT levels in the 2 years after hepatectomy: the low ALT group comprised 13 patients whose serum ALT levels showed a sustained low level below 80 IU, and the high ALT group comprised 21 patients whose serum ALT levels showed several peaks or plateaus above 80 IU. The patients had been followed-up prospectively with frequent ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography for recurrence for >5 years. The survival period, non-recurrence interval and number of recurrences were observed. Recurrences were treated with transcatheter chemoembolization in all cases. The cumulative survival rate in the low ALT group was significantly better than that in the high ALT group (P<0.05). The 5-year survival in the low ALT group was as high as 92.3% (12 of 13) compared with 33.3% (7 of 21) in the high ALT group (P<0.05). The cumulative non-recurrence rate in the low ALT group was also significantly better than that in the high ALT group (P<0.01). The survival period correlated well with the interval until the first recurrence (r=0.545, P=0.006). There was a tendency for the number of recurrences in the low ALT group (1.5±0.4, mean±SE) to be fewer than that in the high ALT group (2.2±0.4), although this was not significant. Sustained alleviation of inflammation, as indicated by low ALT levels, provides a survival advantage mainly due to the longer non-recurrence interval, and possibly because of fewer recurrences, in hepatectomized HCC patients with HCV-LC. [source] | ||||||||||||||||