Circulating soluble adhesion molecules E-cadherin, E-selectin, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) in patients with gastric cancer

The concentrations of the soluble adhesion molecules E-cadherin, E-selectin, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) were investigated in 45 patients with gastric cancer before treatment and their correlation with clinical, histological and routine laboratory parameters was examined. Data were collected on tumour stage at presentation, presence and sites of metastatic disease, tumour pathology, survival and results of routine laboratory tests. Serum concentrations of ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 were significantly elevated in the patients with gastric cancer in comparison with the group of healthy subjects (P < 0.00001 and P < 0.0001 respectively). Increased serum concentrations of VCAM-1 were associated with locally advanced and metastatic disease whereas ICAM-1 was significantly elevated both in local and in advanced/metastatic disease. Soluble E-cadherin and E-selectin concentrations did not show any significant elevation in gastric cancer patients. Concentrations of soluble adhesion molecules showed significant correlation with each other (except E-selectin and VCAM-1) and with alkaline phosphatase. Soluble ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 were significantly associated with an elevated total white cell count. Patients with elevated VCAM-1 had significantly poorer survival in comparison with patients with normal serum levels (P = 0.0361).     

CVT-313, a specific and potent inhibitor of CDK2 that prevents neointimal proliferation

The activity of cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) is essential for progression of cells from G1 to the S phase of the mammalian cell cycle. CVT-313 is a potent CDK2 inhibitor, which was identified from a purine analog library with an IC50 of 0.5 microM in vitro. Inhibition was competitive with respect to ATP (Ki = 95 nM), and selective CVT-313 had no effect on other, nonrelated ATP-dependent serine/threonine kinases. When added to CDK1 or CDK4, a 8.5- and 430-fold higher concentration of CVT-313 was required for half-maximal inhibition of the enzyme activity. In cells exposed to CVT-313, hyperphosphorylation of the retinoblastoma gene product was inhibited, and progression through the cell cycle was arrested at the G1/S boundary. The growth of mouse, rat, and human cells in culture was also inhibited by CVT-313 with the IC50 for growth arrest ranging from 1.25 to 20 microM. To evaluate the effects of CVT-313 in vivo, we tested this agent in a rat carotid artery model of restenosis. A brief intraluminal exposure of CVT-313 to a denuded rat carotid artery resulted in more than 80% inhibition of neointima formation. These observations suggest that CVT-313 is a promising candidate for evaluation in other disease models related to aberrant cell proliferation.     

Using hybridized ANN-GA prediction method for DOE performed drying experiments

Abstract

Coal is an important component in the energy industry and plays a key role in energy-producing facilities. Moisture is a common condition that has a considerable impact on coal. Coal drying has long been a question of great interest in a wide range of fields. Defining parameters in the coal drying is obtained by experiments. High costs, time constraints, and repetition of an experiment are one of the most frequently stated problems with experimental works. Using qualitative methods with experiments can be more useful for identifying and characterizing the coal drying process. The purpose of this article is finding the effective parameters in the coal drying process by using a hybridized prediction method. Genetic Algorithm (GA) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) are hybridized with each other to identify and characterize the coal drying process. GA-ANN algorithm is applied to the coal drying process to predict the moisture of coal, but it does not provide a decent result at first. Later, the Design of Experiment (DoE) methodology is performed to determine the main effects of six parameters. Two scenarios are generated because two parameters are not statistically significant. The first scenario excludes the air relative humidity parameter, and the second scenario excludes the air relative humidity and the velocity of air parameters. Following the application of the DoE method, GA-ANN reaches decent results in scenario-2.     

The ISO Headspace CO2 Biodegradation Test

Two published methods for evaluating the aerobic biodegradability of organic compounds by measuring inorganic carbon (CO2) production in sealed vessels, under a headspace of air were combined into one protocol. This was ring tested in 1995 by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) using aniline and 1-octanol as the test substances. This paper describes the ISO method and discusses the results of the inter-laboratory calibration exercise in terms of the method's precision and performance.     

The College of American Pathologists, 1946-1996. Quality Assurance Service

Since its creation in 1970, the College of American Pathologists Quality Assurance Service Committee has provided important and highly respected interlaboratory programs for daily quality control. In 1988, this committee extended its domain by announcing Q-Probes, a unique benchmarking program for laboratory quality assurance. Because of the success and rapid growth of this program during the next 2 years, the Quality Assurance Service Committee expanded into two committees, namely, QAS-QC and QAS-QA, with expertise concentrated, respectively, in quality control and quality assurance. These committees have compiled a history of significant scientific and educational contributions to members, the international laboratory community, other physicians, and patients. New directions for both committees are now underway so that their contributions can continue in the rapidly changing field of pathology and laboratory medicine.     

Quantification of historical dust exposures in the diatomaceous earth industry

Quantitative estimates of dust exposure in a diatomaceous earth (DE) mining and milling operation have been derived based on air sampling records for the period 1948-1988. A total of 6395 records was included in the analysis. Conversion of results obtained by particle counting, expressed as millions of particles per cubic feet (mppcf) of gravimetrically from a filter cassette and expressed as mg m-3 total, were converted to mg m-3 respirable dust using a conversion factor derived from data obtained during the same periods at the plant. Conversion factors were calculated as the average difference of means on the log scale in order to provide stable and consistent conversions and as a ratio of arithmetic means so that the results could be compared with similar studies. After converting the available data to mg m-3 respirable dust, geometric mean (geometric standard deviation) concentrations were 0.37 (2.43) during the 1950s and 0.17 (2.35) during later periods. Exposures were estimated using two linear models, one estimating the changes in concentration over time, and the other providing job-specific mean exposures during the more recent period. Extrapolation of the estimates to periods prior to the availability of any data was done using a subjectively-determined scaling factor. The average estimated respirable dust concentrations for 135 jobs were 3.55 (+/-1.25), 1.37 (+/-0.48), 0.47 (+/-0.16) and 0.29 (+/-0.10) mg m-3 prior to 1949, 1949-1953, 1954-1973 and 1974-1988, respectively. Despite the limitations of the available data, the estimation procedures used are expected to provide reasonable quantitative estimates of silica-containing dust exposure for subsequent exposure-response analyses.