Differences in PARP Inhibitors for the Treatment of Ovarian Cancer: Mechanisms of Action,Pharmacology, Safety,and Efficacy

Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerases (PARP) are proteins responsible for DNA damage detection and signal transduction. PARP inhibitors (PARPi) are able to interact with the binding site for PARP cofactor (NAD+) and trapping PARP on the DNA. In this way, they inhibit single-strand DNA damage repair. These drugs have been approved in recent years for the treatment of ovarian cancer. Although they share some similarities, from the point of view of the chemical structure and pharmacodynamic, pharmacokinetic properties, these drugs also have some substantial differences. These differences may underlie the different safety profiles and activity of PARPi.     

The Electron–Phonon Interaction of Low-Dimensional and Multi-Dimensional Materials from He Atom Scattering

Atom scattering is becoming recognized as a sensitive probe of the electron–phonon interaction parameter λ at metal and metal-overlayer surfaces. Here, the theory is developed, linking λ to the thermal attenuation of atom scattering spectra (in particular, the Debye–Waller factor), to conducting materials of different dimensions, from quasi-1D systems such as W(110):H(1 × 1) and Bi(114), to quasi-2D layered chalcogenides, and high-dimensional surfaces such as quasicrystalline 2ML-Ba(0001)/Cu(001) and d-AlNiCo(00001). Values of λ obtained using He atoms compare favorably with known values for the bulk materials. The corresponding analysis indicates in addition, the number of layers contributing to the electron–phonon interaction, which is measured in an atom surface collision.     

Passive target detection and tracking from electromagnetic field measurements

This paper presents a novel approach to the localization of moving targets in a complex environment based on the measurement of the perturbations induced by the target presence on an independently‐generated time‐varying electromagnetic field. Field perturbations are measured via a set of sensors deployed over the domain of interest and used to detect and track a possible target by resorting to a particle Bernoulli filter (PBF). To comply with real‐time operation, the PBF works along with an artificial neural network (ANN) model of the environment trained offline via finite elements (FEs). The performance of the proposed algorithm is assessed via simulation experiments.     

New bounds for the Marcum Q-function

New bounds are proposed for the Marcum Q-function, which is defined by an integral expression where the 0th-order modified Bessel function appears. The proposed bounds are derived by suitable approximations of the 0th-order modified Bessel function in the integration region of the Marcum Q-function. They prove to be very tight and outperform bounds previously proposed in the literature. In particular, the proposed bounds are noticeably good for large values of the parameters of the Marcum Q-function, where previously introduced bounds fail and where exact computation of the function becomes critical due to numerical problems     

The first five responses in the method of constant stimuli.

Examined whether the method of constant stimuli with the standard presented first produces a constant error that depends on adaptation level. 120 university students were shown 5 series of 5 pairs of standard and variable lines. They had to decide whether the standard or the variable was longer or shorter than the preceding variable, or standard, respectively. In order to establish when the constant error occurred, the point of subjective equality was determined for each response. It was found that the 1st response was nearly random. The constant error was present from the 2nd response, and its magnitude did not change in succeeding series, contrary to expectations from adaptation-level theory. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Experimental determination of thermal conductivity of apple and potato at different moisture contents

Thermal conductivity of apple and potato samples was measured by means of a specifically designed apparatus based on Fitch's method. The thermal conductivity was determined at various moisture contents at the sample mean temperature of 30 °C. As expected the conductivity decreases with the decrease in moisture content. Thermal conductivity data were correlated with moisture content using a straight line.     

Proteins and cells on PEG immobilized silicon surfaces

Functional adhesion of blood and marrow leukemic cells from 14 acute myeloid leukemia patients presenting with hyperleukocytosis was evaluated by performing cytoadhesion assays on purified (extracellular matrix proteins) and non-purified supports (MRC5 fibroblastic cell line). Results, in 30-min chromium release assay, show a mean +/- S.D. adhesion to fibronectin, collagen, and laminin respectively of 30 +/- 17%, 20 +/- 13%, 25 +/- 17% for blood leukemic cells and 18 +/- 11%, 11 +/- 10%, 11 +/- 8% for marrow leukemic cells. These differences between blood and marrow cells were statistically significant (respectively P = 0.005, P = 0.01 and P = 0.002), while no difference was noted regarding adhesion to non-purified supports. The higher adhesion of blood blast cells to purified supports was observed regardless of CD34 expression. No significant difference was observed in the expression of cell surface VLA-molecules (CD29, CD49b, CD49d, CD49e, CD49f) between blood and marrow blast cells. The addition of GM-CSF or G-CSF induced increased adhesion of marrow blasts and decreased adhesion of blood blasts leading to a loss of the difference between blood and marrow cells. In a 60-min chromium release assay, marrow blasts adhered even more than blood leukemic cells to fibronectin. In contrast, marrow blasts from 'aleukemic' acute myeloid leukemia patients did not show any modification regarding their adhesion to extracellular matrix proteins when co-cultured with growth factors.     

On the relationships among latent variables and residuals in PLS path modeling: The formative-reflective scheme

A new approach for the estimation and the validation of a structural equation model with a formative-reflective scheme is presented. The basis of the paper is a proposal for overcoming a potential deficiency of PLS path modeling. In the PLS approach the reflective scheme assumed for the endogenous latent variables (LVs) is inverted; moreover, the model errors are not explicitly taken into account for the estimation of the endogenous LVs. The proposed approach utilizes all the relevant information in the formative manifest variables (MVs) providing solutions which respect the causal structure of the model. The estimation procedure is based on the optimization of the redundancy criterion. The new approach, entitled redundancy analysis approach to path modeling (RA-PM) is compared with both traditional PLS Path Modeling and LISREL methodology, on the basis of real and simulated data.     

Some spatial equilibria in facility investment under uncertain demand

This paper describes the spatial distribution of customer demand, supply of customer services and facility investment, as the outcome of a three-level game-like interaction between customers (e.g., shoppers), suppliers (e.g., retailers) and developers (e.g., landlords). Treating both the suppliers and developers at each centre as competitors, oligopolistic equilibria of the Nash-Stackelberg type are developed, and conditions for their existence and uniqueness established. Uncertain customer demand is specified in probabilistic terms, representing the suppliers' perception of expected customer behaviour.