CASCADE_SCAN: mining signal transduction network from high-throughput data based on steepest descent method.

Background: Signal transduction is an essential biological process involved in cell response to environment changes, by which extracellular signaling initiates intracellular signaling. Many computational methods have been generated in mining signal transduction networks with the increasing of high-throughput genomic and proteomic data. However, more effective means are still needed to understand the complex mechanisms of signaling pathways.

Tunable microwave generation based on a dual-wavelength single-longitudinal-mode fiber laser using a phase-shifted grating on a triangular cantilever.

Frequency tunable microwave signal generation, based on a dual-wavelength single-longitudinal-mode (SLM) erbium-doped fiber (EDF) laser, incorporating a phase-shifted fiber Bragg grating (PS-FBG) with two π-phase shifts, is demonstrated. In the proposed configuration, the PS-FBG with two ultranarrow transmission bands is embedded in a triangular cantilever to serve as a wavelength spacing tunable filter with a fixed center wavelength by applying various strains on the cantilever. A section of unpumped EDF is employed as a saturable absorber to ensure SLM operation in each of the two lasing lines.

Comparison of CRT and CRT-D in heart failure: systematic review of controlled trials.

Background: Few studies have directly compared cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) with combined CRT-cardioverter defibrillator therapy (CRT-D) in patients with left ventricular (LV) impairment. We performed a systematic analysis to assess the therapeutic effects of CRT and CRT-D in patients with LV impairment and heart failure.

Methods: The Medline database from 1970 to September 2010 was searched.

Surgical outcomes and prognostic factors of transsphenoidal surgery for prolactinoma in men: a single-center experience with 87 consecutive cases.

Context Little systematic data on male prolactinomas treated with surgery are available. Objective To clarify the clinical features and confirm the efficacy of transsphenoidal surgery for male prolactinomas and predictive factors after initial surgery. Patients and methods This retrospective study included 87 male patients with prolactinoma treated by transsphenoidal surgery at an academic medical center.

Analysis of inverse-Gaussian apodized fiber Bragg grating.

Inverse-Gaussian apodized fiber Bragg gratings (IGAFBGs) are numerically studied using the transfer matrix method and fabricated by the commonly used phase-mask scanning technique in a single-step scanning process. The IGAFBG can serve as a dual-wavelength passband filter, whose wavelength spacing can be continuously tuned by introducing a tunable chirp through applying a strain gradient in principle. Also, an IGAFBG with identical dual passbands having 0.

Pneumocephalus after interventional therapy in esophageal cancer.

Pneumocephalus has been reported to have many causes. To our knowledge, a case of tension pneumocephalus caused by subarachnoid-esophagus fistula has not been reported previously. In this report, an unusual case of tension pneumocephalus, which appeared after esophageal cancer disrupting paravertebral tissue resulted in subarachnoid-esophagus fistula, is presented and the involvements in tension pneumocephalus are discussed.

Randomized controlled trials on the therapeutic effects of adult progenitor cells for myocardial infarction: meta-analysis.

Objective: We performed a systematic meta-analysis to assess the therapeutic effects of progenitor cell therapy after myocardial infarction (MI).

Research Design/methods: Randomized controlled trials of progenitor cell therapy for MI were extracted from MEDLINE. We performed a prospective comparison of progenitor cell therapy versus placebo after acute or chronic MI, with changes in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) as the primary endpoint.

CD147 expression in pituitary adenomas and its significance for clinical outcome.

CD147, a transmembrane glycoprotein member of the immunoglobulin superfamily of receptors, is involved in invasion and angiogenesis of some types of tumors; but its roles and clinicopathologic significance in pituitary adenomas are not clear. Using immunohistochemistry and quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, we measured the expression of CD147, matrix metalloproteinase-2, and Ki-67 in 74 pituitary adenomas and evaluated the associations of CD147 with matrix metalloproteinase-2, Ki-67 labeling index, clinicopathologic characteristics, and prognosis. The CD147 protein was expressed in 35 (87.

Fabrication of a compact reflective long-period grating sensor with a cladding-mode-selective fiber end-face mirror.

A long-period grating (LPG) based compact optical fiber sensor working in reflection mode is demonstrated. A technique to make a mirror on the cladding region of a fiber end-face to reflect only the cladding modes was realized by growing a polymeric microtip on the core region of the fiber end-face, by photopolymerization, followed by coating the fiber end-face with an aluminum film. Using the cladding-mode-selective fiber end-face mirror, the transmission spectrum of the LPG was "inverted" and reflected.

Identifying the local structures formed during lithiation of the conversion material, iron fluoride, in a Li ion battery: a solid-state NMR, X-ray diffraction, and pair distribution function analysis study.

The structural transformations that occur when FeF(3) is cycled at room temperature in a Li cell were investigated using a combination of X-ray diffraction (XRD), pair distribution function (PDF) analysis, and magic-angle-spinning NMR spectroscopy. Two regions are seen on discharge. The first occurs between Li = 0 and 1.

Simultaneous quantification of eight bioactive components of Houttuynia cordata and related Saururaceae medicinal plants by on-line high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector-electrospray mass spectrometry.

An on-line high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-diode array detector (DAD)-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) method has been developed to quantify simultaneously eight bioactive chemical components in Houttuynia cordata Thunb and related Saururaceae medicinal plants. Simultaneous separation of these eight compounds was achieved on a C(18) analytical column with gradient elution of acetonitrile and 0.2% acetic acid (v/v) at a flow rate of 0.

The alleviating pain effect of aqueous extract from tong-xie-yao-fang, on experimental visceral hypersensitivity and its mechanism.

Tong-Xie-Yao-Fang (TXYF) is a prescription in traditional chinese medicine (TCM), used for relieving abdominal pain associated with irritable bowel syndrome. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects and mechanism of TXYF on experimental visceral hypersensitivity (VH) models. TXYF affected the abdominal withdrawal reflex produced by colonic distention in maternal separation-induced visceral hypersensitivity rats, in a dosage-dependent manner.

Lithium salt of tetrahydroxybenzoquinone: toward the development of a sustainable Li-ion battery.

The use of lithiated redox organic molecules containing electrochemically active C=O functionalities, such as lithiated oxocarbon salts, is proposed. These represent alternative electrode materials to those used in current Li-ion battery technology that can be synthesized from renewable starting materials. The key material is the tetralithium salt of tetrahydroxybenzoquinone (Li(4)C(6)O(6)), which can be both reduced to Li(2)C(6)O(6) and oxidized to Li(6)C(6)O(6).

In vivo enhancement of angiogenesis by adenoviral transfer of HIF-1alpha-modified endothelial progenitor cells (Ad-HIF-1alpha-modified EPC for angiogenesis).

Hypoxia inducible factor (HIF)-1alpha over-expression may have beneficial effects in cell therapy of hypoxia-induced pathophysiological processes, such as ischemic disease. Our previous study showed the feasibility of ex vivo modification of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) by HIF-1alpha transfection. In this study, we sought to determine if such ex vivo modified EPCs facilitated functional therapeutic neovascularization.

Determination of rimantadine in rat plasma by liquid chromatography/electrospray mass spectrometry and its application in a pharmacokinetic study.

A rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) method was developed and validated for the determination of rimantadine in rat plasma. Rimantadine was extracted by protein precipitation with methanol, and the chromatographic separation was performed on a C(18) column. The total analytical run time was relatively short (4.

Privacy-preserving telecardiology sensor networks: toward a low-cost portable wireless hardware/software codesign.

Recently, a remote-sensing platform based on wireless interconnection of tiny ECG sensors called Telecardiology Sensor Networks (TSN) provided a promising approach to perform low-cost real-time cardiac patient monitoring at any time in community areas (such as elder nursing homes or hospitals). The contribution of this research is the design of a practical TSN hardware/software platform for a typical U.S.

[Studies on chemical constituents of phenols in fresh Houttuynia cordata].

Objective: To study the aqueous constituents of Houttuynia cordata.

Method: Various columns including Diaion HP-20, Sephadex LH-20, ODS and silica gel were employed for the isolation and purification of compounds from H. cordata.

Angiogenesis by transplantation of HIF-1 alpha modified EPCs into ischemic limbs.

Hypoxia inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1 alpha) is a key determinant of oxygen-dependent gene regulation in angiogenesis. HIF-1 alpha overexpression may be beneficial in cell therapy of hypoxia-induced pathophysiological processes, such as ischemic heart disease. To address this issue, human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNCs) were induced to differentiate into endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), and then were transfected with either an HIF-1 alpha-expressing or a control vector and cultured under normoxia or hypoxia.

[Orthogonal experiment using SFE-CO2 in extraction of essential oil from fresh Houttuynia cordata and analysis of essential oil by GC-MS].

Objective: To optimize the extraction procedure of essential oil from H. cordata using the SFE-CO2 and analyze the chemical composition of the essential oil.

Method: The extraction procedure of essential oil from fresh H.

Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy for radiation encephalopathy induced by radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Objective: To understand the metabolic patterns of NAA, Cr and Cho in radiation encephalopathy (RE) induced by radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma detected by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS), and provide useful evidence for early diagnosis of this disease.

Methods: Chemical shift imaging 1H-MRS was performed for 10 healthy volunteers (control group) and 21 patients with pathologically confirmed nasopharyngeal carcinomas, who developed RE after radical radiotherapy as diagnosed on the basis of clinical symptoms and imaging findings. The contents of NAA, Cr and Cho in the pixels were observed, the metabolic maps generated, and NAA/Cr and NAA/Cho ratios calculated for all the subjects.

[Study on chemical constituents of flavonoids in fresh herb of Houttuynia cordata].

Objective: To study the flavonoid constituents in fresh herb of Houttuynia cordata.

Method: Various column packing materials including Diaion HP - 20, Sephadex LH - 20, ODS and silica gel were employed for the isolation and purification of compounds from H. cordata.

Inhibition of hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha and endothelial progenitor cell differentiation by adenoviral transfer of small interfering RNA in vitro.

RNA interference is applied to study gene function in different organisms and in various cell types. Little is known about the effect of RNA interference on human endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) in vitro. To address this issue, short hairpin RNA targeting the human hypoxia inducible factor-1alpha (HIF-1alpha) was transferred into human EPCs by an adenoviral vector.

Sensitive HPLC-APCI-MS method for the determination of cyclovirobuxine D in human plasma.

A sensitive high performance liquid chromatography-atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation-mass spectrometry (HPLC-APCI-MS) assay for determination of cyclovirobuxine D (CVB-D) in human plasma using mirtazapine as internal standard (I.S.) was established.

[Overexpression of hypoxia inducible factor-1alpha (HIF-1alpha) promotes the differentiation of endothelial progenitor cell ex vivo].

To investigate the influence of HIF-1alpha overexpression on the differentiation of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) ex vivo, EPCs were isolated from human peripheral blood by density gradient centrifugation, overexpressed HIF-1alpha was transfected to EPCs by electroporation; HIF1alpha, HIF1beta, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) mRNA level were measured with RT-PCR; HIF-1alpha protein was detected with immunohistochemistry in a time course. CD31(+) cells were measured with flow cytometry. Cell morphology was observed after transfection.