Simulation of Facial Muscle Actions Based on Rational Free Form Deformations

This paper describes interactive facilities for simulating abstract muscle actions using Rational Free Form Deformations (RFFD). The particular muscle action is simulated as the displacement of the control points of the control-unit for an RFFD defined on a region of interest. One or several simulated muscle actions constitute a Minimum Perceptible Action (MPA), which is defined as the atomic action unit, similar to Action Unit (AU) of the Facial Action Coding System (FACS), to build an expression.     

Near-Complete Remission of Glioblastoma in a Patient Treated with an Allogenic Dendritic Cell-Based Vaccine: The Role of Tumor-Specific CD4+T-Cell Cytokine Secretion Pattern in Predicting Response and Recurrence

Immunotherapy has brought hope to the fight against glioblastoma, but its efficacy remains unclear. We present the case of CST, a 25-year-old female patient with a large right-hemisphere glioblastoma treated with a dendritic–tumor cell fusion vaccine. CST showed a near-complete tumor response, with a marked improvement in her functional status and simultaneous increases in tumor-specific CD8+ and CD4+ T cells. Two months before recurrence, the frequency of tumor-specific T cells decreased, while that of IL-17 and CD4+ T cells increased. CST passed away 15 months after enrollment. In this illustrative case, the tumor-specific CD4+ T-cell numbers and phenotype behaved as treatment efficacy biomarkers, highlighting the key role of the latter in glioblastoma immunotherapy.     

Multiplexed-Based Assessment of DNA Damage Response to Chemotherapies Using Cell Imaging Cytometry

The current methods for measuring the DNA damage response (DDR) are relatively labor-intensive and usually based on Western blotting, flow cytometry, and/or confocal immunofluorescence analyses. They require many cells and are often limited to the assessment of a single or few proteins. Here, we used the Celigo^® image cytometer to evaluate the cell response to DNA-damaging agents based on a panel of biomarkers associated with the main DDR signaling pathways. We investigated the cytostatic or/and the cytotoxic effects of these drugs using simultaneous propidium iodide and calcein-AM staining. We also describe new dedicated multiplexed protocols to investigate the qualitative (phosphorylation) or the quantitative changes of eleven DDR markers (H2AX, DNA-PKcs, ATR, ATM, CHK1, CHK2, 53BP1, NBS1, RAD51, P53, P21). The results of our study clearly show the advantage of using this methodology because the multiplexed-based evaluation of these markers can be performed in a single experiment using the standard 384-well plate format. The analyses of multiple DDR markers together with the cell cycle status provide valuable insights into the mechanism of action of investigational drugs that induce DNA damage in a time- and cost-effective manner due to the low amounts of antibodies and reagents required.     

Potential of the Stromal Matricellular Protein Periostin as a Biomarker to Improve Risk Assessment in Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer (PCa) ranges from indolent to aggressive tumors that may rapidly progress and metastasize. The switch to aggressive PCa is fostered by reactive stroma infiltrating tumor foci. Therefore, reactive stroma-based biomarkers may potentially improve the early detection of aggressive PCa, ameliorating disease classification. Gene expression profiles of PCa reactive fibroblasts highlighted the up-regulation of genes related to stroma deposition, including periostin and sparc. Here, the potential of periostin as a stromal biomarker has been investigated on PCa prostatectomies by immunohistochemistry. Moreover, circulating levels of periostin and sparc have been assessed in a low-risk PCa patient cohort enrolled in active surveillance (AS) by ELISA. We found that periostin is mainly expressed in the peritumoral stroma of prostatectomies, and its stromal expression correlates with PCa grade and aggressive disease features, such as the cribriform growth. Moreover, stromal periostin staining is associated with a shorter biochemical recurrence-free survival of PCa patients. Interestingly, the integration of periostin and sparc circulating levels into a model based on standard clinico-pathological variables improves its performance in predicting disease reclassification of AS patients. In this study, we provide the first evidence that circulating molecular biomarkers of PCa stroma may refine risk assessment and predict the reclassification of AS patients.     

Design of a novel MRI compatible manipulator for image guided prostate interventions

This paper reports a novel remotely actuated manipulator for access to prostate tissue under magnetic resonance imaging guidance (APT-MRI) device, designed for use in a standard high-field MRI scanner. The device provides three-dimensional MRI guided needle placement with millimeter accuracy under physician control. Procedures enabled by this device include MRI guided needle biopsy, fiducial marker placements, and therapy delivery. Its compact size allows for use in both standard cylindrical and open configuration MRI scanners. Preliminary in vivo canine experiments and first clinical trials are reported.     

Analysis of Acceleration Effect in Data Dissemination in Vehicular Networks Using Rateless Codes

Mobility models of nodes have an important role in the evaluation of data dissemination protocols in vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs). Many recent researches have used the constant velocity mobility models while vehicles have acceleration and their speeds change as they move. Because of the dynamic nature of VANETs, the network changes from a densely connected to the sparsely connected environment in a short time. In sparsely connected networks, it is said that vehicles move in clusters. In this paper, the constant acceleration mobility calculations for the sparsely connected network and its characteristics have been presented. These characteristics are usable for the evaluation of the data dissemination protocols in VANETs. The results show that acceleration affects the number of viewed clusters during the trip and the number of vehicles within a cluster. In fact, acceleration has a significant impact on the network sparsely connection. This matter shows that the appropriate data dissemination protocol should be used to study the acceleration effect which is applicable in sparse networks. The analysis in this research provides the necessary background for better understanding and accurate calculations for the evaluation of data dissemination in VANETs.     

Specific features of the current–voltage characteristics of SiO2/4H-SiC MIS structures with phosphorus implanted into silicon carbide

The effect of phosphorus implantation into a 4H-SiC epitaxial layer immediately before the thermal growth of a gate insulator in an atmosphere of dry oxygen on the reliability of the gate insulator is studied. It is found that, together with passivating surface states, the introduction of phosphorus ions leads to insignificant weakening of the dielectric breakdown field and to a decrease in the height of the energy barrier between silicon carbide and the insulator, which is due to the presence of phosphorus atoms at the 4H-SiC/SiO₂ interface and in the bulk of silicon dioxide.     

使用BUS端口保护阵列实现有源ESD保护

许多便携式应用需要超过8kV的ESD保护,同时将电容保持在5pF以下。Z二极管能够单独满足这一要求,但当与开关或结型二极管等低电容PN二极管相结合时,它们可同时满足该应用的以下两种要求:低电容,以及高ESD和