Anti-proliferative effects of a small molecule inhibitor of CDK AT7519 on chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) cells through halting the transition of cells from G2/M phase of the cell cycle

Pathogenesis of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) has mostly been studied with regard to the oncogenic role of BCR/ABL fusion; however, recent disclosures have declared that the challenges with the treatment of CML patients would not be resolved until the role of other aberrancies is ignored. Given the involvement of cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) in the pathogenesis of CML, the present study aimed to investigate the effects of a multi-CDK inhibitor AT7519 on BCR/ABL-harboring CML-derived K562 cells. Our results showed that AT7519 effectively reduced the survival of K562 and induced its anti-proliferative effect through the induction of G2/M arrest due to elevated p21 and p27. The resulting data also revealed that either direct or indirect suppression of c-Myc using specific c-Myc inhibitor 10058-F4 and selective PI3K inhibitor CAL-101 resulted in a superior cytotoxicity, suggesting that the activation of PI3K pathway could attenuate antileukemic effects of the inhibitor, at least partly, through a c-Mycdependent mechanism. To the best of our knowledge, to date, no study has addressed the effect of autophagy on CML cell response to AT7519, and, herein, we proposed for the first time that the suppression of autophagy boosted AT7519 cytotoxicity against K562. Overall, we suggested that selective CDK inhibitor AT7519 exerted antileukemic effect against CML cells and propose a novel therapeutic application for the inhibitor either as a single agent or in combination with c-Myc and/or PI3K inhibitors.     

An evolutionary approach for colour constancy based on gamut mapping constraint satisfaction

Many colour constancy algorithms have been proposed to achieve a good performance in this field. The gamut mapping algorithm is one of the most accurate and promising algorithms based on gamut assumption: illuminant can be estimated by comparing the colours distribution in the current image to acanonical gamut (i.e., a pre-learned distribution of colours). However, the gamut mapping algorithm is precise but it is time consuming. Therefore, some other methods such as GCIE (gamut constrained illuminant estimation) and CGM (cubical gamut mapping) have been proposed which work faster. However, the results of such methods are poor when the source light is not in the pre-defined ones. In this paper, we propose an evolutionary algorithm for colour constancy based on gamut mapping assumption. This approach overcomes the mentioned problem in other gamut-based methods. The proposed evolutionary method uses a simple chromosome structure together with simple operators such as mutation, selection, and reproduction. Two versions of the proposed methods have been presented here. The first one works on image pixels, while the second one tries on image derivative. The experiments were done on three different data sets that are used in literature and results were satisfactory. The results showed that the proposed method is much improved when compared to other related methods in most of the time especially in the case of real world images.     

Some observations on converting a dual graph into a block layout

Al-Hakim (1992) claims the existence of some pitfalls with the procedure of Hassan and Hogg (1989) for converting a dual graph into a block layout. This note explains the necessary conditions in order for the procedure of Hassan and Hogg to work, and illustrates that Al-Hakim's examples were not solved because they deviated from these conditions. The note also discusses the suggestions of Al-Hakim and points out that they will not succeed in addressing all situations     

Negotiating price/delivery date in a stochastic manufacturing environment

We study a make-to-order manufacturing system consisting of several processing centers that are subject to failures and repairs. Our objective is to build a model that can be used as a tool for negotiating the delivery date and the price of a certain upcoming order. The model takes into account the congestion level of the shop floor at the time the order is placed. Based on the workload of the processing centers, the model splits the order into lots and assigns them to the processing centers so as to determine the order completion time associated with the minimum operating cost. The efficiency of the solution method for the model allows real-time decision-making while negotiating the price and delivery date of the order to be placed. Since the decisions are made based on a snapshot of the congestion level at the shop floor, using this model will reduce the conflict between the marketing and the production activities in manufacturing organizations.     

Modeling of austenite to ferrite transformation

In this research, an algorithm based on the $\boldsymbol{Q}$ -state Potts model is presented for modeling the austenite to ferrite transformation. In the algorithm, it is possible to exactly track boundary migration of the phase formed during transformation. In the algorithm, effects of changes in chemical free energy, strain free energy and interfacial energies of austenite?Caustenite, ferrite?Cferrite and austenite?Cferrite during transformation are considered. From the algorithm, the kinetics of transformation and mean ferrite grain size for different cooling rates are calculated. It is found that there is a good agreement between the calculated and experimental results.     

Dye-sensitized solar cell and photocatalytic performance of nanocomposite photocatalyst prepared by electrochemical anodization

This study compares different Fe-doped TiO₂ nanostructures in terms of their photocatalytic performance. Iron-doped TiO₂ nanostructures (FeTNs) were prepared by in situ anodizing of titanium in a single-step process in the presence of 3, 9, 15 and 21 mM K₃Fe(CN)₆. Potassium ferricyanide was used as the iron source. Prepared films are amorphous, so these layers were thermally annealed. The effect of iron doping on the photoelectrochemical properties (including dye-sensitized solar cells) and photocatalysis properties (decomposition of methomyl) was investigated. In all investigated cases, the sample C, which was formed by anodizing in a ethylene glycol electrolyte containing 9 mM K₃Fe(CN)₆, exhibited better performance than the bare TiO₂ and FeNTs fabricated using other iron concentrations. This study demonstrated a feasible and simple anodizing method to fabricate an effective, reproducible and inexpensive photocatalyst for various applications.     

A new intelligent approach for air traffic control using gravitational search algorithm

Aircraft landing planning (ALP) is one of the most important challenging problems in the domain of air traffic control (ATC). Solving this NP-hard problem is a valuable aid in organizing air traffic in terminal control area (TCA), which itself leads to a decrease in aircraft fuel consumption, costs of airlines, and workload undertaken by air traffic controllers. In the present paper, the ALP problem is dealt with by applying effective rich knowledge to the optimization process (to remove obvious non-optimal solutions), and the first use of Gravitational Search Algorithm (GSA) in resolving such a case. In this regard, while the specific regulations for safe separation have been observed, the optimal landing time, the optimal runway, and the order of consecutive landings have been determined so that the main goal (minimizing total flight delays) would be best met. Results of simulations show that this approach, compared to previous ones, which are based on Genetic and Bionomic algorithms, GLS, and Scatter search method, considerably decreases total flight delays. Attaining zero in the total flight delays in three scenarios with real data shows that the suggested intelligent approach is more decisive than others in finding an optimal solution.     

桥面板与覆层结合界面的干燥收缩诱导应力估算

采用三维非线性有限元分析方法评价与估算了桥面板与混凝七覆层间结合界面的干燥收缩诱导应力.并采用修正Fowler准则测算了桥面板与聚合物覆层间的热诱导应力.在评价覆层与面板问相对厚度to/ts的影响时,ts取常数200mm;在评价相对弹性模量Eo/Es的影响时,Es取常数,27.5GPa,并设定了3个Eo/Es比值,分别...     

Effect of scrapping on the performance of multistage automatic transfer lines

Many analytical and simulation models have been developed to study the behaviour of automatic transfer lines. Most of these models, however, have neglected the important phenomenon of scrapping of workpieces. In this paper we study the effect of this phenomenon on the performance of automatic transfer lines.