Der f 38 Is a Novel TLR4-Binding Allergen Related to Allergy Pathogenesis from Dermatophagoides farinae

It is difficult to treat allergic diseases including asthma completely because its pathogenesis remains unclear. House dust mite (HDM) is a critical allergen and Toll-like receptor (TLR) 4 is a member of the toll-like receptor family, which plays an important role in allergic diseases. The purpose of this study was to characterize a novel allergen, Der f 38 binding to TLR4, and unveil its role as an inducer of allergy. Der f 38 expression was detected in the body and feces of Dermatophagoides farinae (DF). Electron microscopy revealed that it was located in the granule layer, the epithelium layer, and microvilli of the posterior midgut. The skin prick test showed that 60% of allergic subjects were Der f 38-positive. Der f 38 enhanced surface 203c expression in basophils of Der f 38-positive allergic subjects. By analysis of the model structure of Der p 38, the expected epitope sites are exposed on the exterior side. In animal experiments, Der f 38 triggered an infiltration of inflammatory cells. Intranasal (IN) administration of Der f 38 increased neutrophils in the lung. Intraperitoneal (IP) and IN injections of Der f 38 induced both eosinophils and neutrophils. Increased total IgE level and histopathological features were found in BALB/c mice treated with Der f 38 by IP and IN injections. TLR4 knockout (KO) BALB/c mice exhibited less inflammation and IgE level in the sera compared to wild type (WT) mice. Der f 38 directly binds to TLR4 using biolayer interferometry. Der f 38 suppressed the apoptosis of neutrophils and eosinophils by downregulating proteins in the proapoptotic pathway including caspase 9, caspase 3, and BAX and upregulating proteins in the anti-apoptotic pathway including BCL-2 and MCL-1. These findings might shed light on the pathogenic mechanisms of allergy to HDM.     

A team formation model based on knowledge and collaboration

Appointing a good leader to the position of team manager and having competent workers collaborate as team members is a key to success in business activities of an enterprising institution. The traditional methodologies of human resource management have defined the required abilities for team managers and team members, and evaluated those abilities of employees. However, it is difficult to consider those abilities systematically in practice. In addition, the current management paradigm undergoes rapid transitions into knowledge management. In step with these trends, this study presents a framework for analyzing the knowledge of the candidates for managers and team members for the new team, and proposes a genetic algorithm and social network measures for choosing a team manager and team members. A prototype was built for testing the feasibility of the model. The testing data are from an R&D institute’s human resource management department. The results show that our proposed approach is a quantitative and systematic method for selecting proper personnel for appropriate teams.     

Performance evaluation of a high durability asphalt binder and a high durability asphalt mixture for bridge deck pavements

This paper describes the results of laboratory and full-scale performance tests for a high durability asphalt binder (HDAB) and high durability asphalt mixture (HDAM) applicable to the wearing course in a bridge deck system. The HDAB was developed using a styrene–butadiene–styrene (SBS) modifier and hydrocarbon for improving construction workability and resistance to fatigue cracking. Various binder tests were conducted on the HDAB, and test results showed that the resistance to fatigue and low temperature cracking of the HDAB increased significantly compared to that of the PG 64-22 and PG 76-22 binders. For the mixtures, the fatigue test results showed that the HDAM has a three times longer fatigue life than the SBS-modified asphalt mixture. It was also found that the HDAM has a higher resistance against moisture-induced damage. Results from full-scale accelerated testing on the bridge deck pavement system proved that the HDAM can significantly improve pavement performance.     

Patterns of email use by teachers and implications: A Singapore experience

This paper attempts to identify the patterns of email use by schoolteachers. The findings are based on a survey of 2998 Singapore teachers whose teaching experiences ranged from 24 to 48 months. The result shows that teachers use email mainly to communicate with colleagues, and the degree of email use varies according to the school level that the teachers are working in. While the teachers teaching at higher school levels (Grades 11–12) email their colleagues more frequently than their counterparts teaching at lower school levels especially primary school teachers, the latter tend to email parents more frequently than other teachers. Implications of the findings are discussed in relevance to pre-service teacher education, teacher professional development and ICT adoption in organisations.     

Individual and situational factors that influence the efficacy of personalized feedback substance use interventions for mandated college students.

Little is known about individual and situational factors that moderate the efficacy of personalized feedback interventions (PFIs). Mandated college students (N = 348) were randomly assigned either to a PFI delivered in the context of a brief motivational interview (BMI; n = 180) or to a written PFI only (WF) condition and were followed up at 4 months and 15 months postintervention. The authors empirically identified heterogeneous subgroups utilizing mixture modeling analysis based on heavy episodic drinking and alcohol-related problems. The 4 identified groups were dichotomized into an improved group (53.4%) and a nonimproved group (46.6%). Logistic regression results indicated that the BMI was no more efficacious than the WF across all mandated students. However, mandated students who experienced a serious incident requiring medical or police attention and those with higher levels of alcohol-related problems at baseline benefited more from the BMI than from the WF. It may be an efficacious and cost-effective approach to provide a written PFI for low-risk mandated students and an enhanced PFI with a BMI for those students who experience a serious incident or have higher baseline alcohol-related problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

High-peak-power 2nd-harmonic l.s.a. sources

Results are presented which indicate that the upper frequency range of l.s.a. oscillators can be extended by extracting power at the 2nd-harmonic frequency. By selectively loading the 2nd-harmonic frequency of an X-band l.s.a. oscillator, up to 170 W peak power with 4.8% efficiency at 17.5 GHz has been obtained.     

Artificial convolution neural network techniques and applications for lung nodule detection

We have developed a double-matching method and an artificial visual neural network technique for lung nodule detection. This neural network technique is generally applicable to the recognition of medical image pattern in gray scale imaging. The structure of the artificial neural net is a simplified network structure of human vision. The fundamental operation of the artificial neural network is local two-dimensional convolution rather than full connection with weighted multiplication. Weighting coefficients of the convolution kernels are formed by the neural network through backpropagated training. In addition, we modeled radiologists' reading procedures in order to instruct the artificial neural network to recognize the image patterns predefined and those of interest to experts in radiology. We have tested this method for lung nodule detection. The performance studies have shown the potential use of this technique in a clinical setting. This program first performed an initial nodule search with high sensitivity in detecting round objects using a sphere template double-matching technique. The artificial convolution neural network acted as a final classifier to determine whether the suspected image block contains a lung nodule. The total processing time for the automatic detection of lung nodules using both prescan and convolution neural network evaluation was about 15 seconds in a DEC Alpha workstation.     

Quantitative Proteomics Study Reveals Changes in the Molecular Landscape of Human Embryonic Stem Cells with Impaired Stem Cell Differentiation upon Exposure to Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles

The increasing number of nanoparticles (NPs) being used in various industries has led to growing concerns of potential hazards that NP exposure can incur on human health. However, its global effects on humans and the underlying mechanisms are not systemically studied. Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), with the ability to differentiate to any cell types, provide a unique system to assess cellular, developmental, and functional toxicity in vitro within a single system highly relevant to human physiology. Here, the quantitative proteomics approach is adopted to evaluate the molecular consequences of titanium dioxide NPs (TiO₂ NPs) exposure in hESCs. The study identifies ≈328 unique proteins significantly affected by TiO₂ NPs exposure. Proteomics analysis highlights that TiO₂ NPs can induce DNA damage, elevated oxidative stress, apoptotic responses, and cellular differentiation. Furthermore, in vivo analysis demonstrates remarkable reduction in the ability of hESCs in teratoma formation after TiO₂ NPs exposure, suggesting impaired pluripotency. Subsequently, it is found that TiO₂ NPs can disrupt hESC mesoderm differentiation into cardiomyocytes. The study unveils comprehensive changes in the molecular landscape of hESCs by TiO₂ NPs and identifies the impact which TiO₂ NPs can have on the pluripotency and differentiation properties of human stem cells.     

A WDM-PON Employing Fabry–PÉrot Laser Diodes Without a Seed Light Injection

We propose and demonstrate a wavelength-division-multiplexed passive optical network by employing double-contact Fabry-Perot laser diodes (F-P LDs) without a seed light injection. To avoid the high mode partition noise at low frequency, we use a binary phase-shift keying as a modulation format at a low relative intensity noise window. An error-free transmission is achieved by compensating a lasing envelope shift due to temperature variation with the double-contact F-P LD.     

An enhanced cross-layer fast handover scheme for mobile IPv6 in the IEEE 802.16e networks

The IEEE 802.16e standard enhances the IEEE 802.16 for the mobility support. Mobile stations can move while receiving services, thus ongoing IP sessions may be maintained during a handover in the IEEE 802.16e. To reduce handover latency, the idea of cross-layer handover which incorporates layer 2 handover with IP layer has been devised. Various cross-layer handover schemes supporting fast handover in the IEEE 802.16e networks have been proposed. However, the problem of the conventional cross-layer fast handover schemes is that they are heavily influenced by the new address confirmation latency which is the most time-consuming procedure. In this paper, we propose an enhanced cross-layer fast handover scheme which is not susceptible to the new address confirmation latency. Detailed performance analysis is performed in terms of the signaling costs and the handover latencies to show the effectiveness of the proposed scheme compared with the conventional ones. The results of the performance evaluation confirm the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.