Peroxiredoxin 2 as a chemotherapy responsiveness biomarker candidate in osteosarcoma revealed by proteomics

Purpose : We aimed to identify novel chemotherapy responsiveness biomarkers for osteosarcoma (OS) by investigating the global protein expression profile of 12 biopsy samples from OS patients. Experimental design : Six patients were classified as good responders and six as poor responders, according to the Huvos grading system. The protein expression profiles obtained by 2‐D DIGE consisted of 2250 protein spots. Results : Among them, we identified 55 protein spots whose intensity was significantly different (Bonferroni adjusted p‐value<0.01) between the two patient groups. Mass spectrometric protein identification demonstrated that the 55 spots corresponded to 38 distinct gene products including peroxiredoxin 2 (PRDX 2). Use of a specific antibody against PRDX 2 confirmed the differential expression of PRDX 2 between good and poor responders, while PRDX 2 levels as measured by Western blotting correlated highly with their corresponding 2‐D DIGE values. The predictive value of PRDX 2 expression was further confirmed by examining an additional four OS cases using Western blotting. Conclusions and clinical relevance : These results establish PRDX 2 as a candidate for chemotherapy responsiveness marker in OS. Measuring PRDX 2 in biopsy samples before treatment may contribute to more effective management of OS.     

New pixel driving circuit using self‐discharging compensation method for high‐resolution OLED micro displays on a silicon backplane

A new 4T2C pixel circuit formed on a silicon substrate is proposed to realize a high‐resolution 7.8‐μm pixel pitch AMOLED microdisplay. In order to achieve high luminance uniformity, the pixel circuit compensates its Vth variation of the MOSFET for the driving transistor internally by using self‐discharging method. Also presented are 0.5‐in Quad‐VGA and 1.25‐in wide Quad‐XGA microdisplays with the proposed pixel circuit.     

Package Design of Ready-to-Drink Coffee Beverages Based on Food <Emphasis Type="Italic">Kansei</Emphasis> Model—Effects of Straw and Cognition Terms on Consumer’s Pleasantness

To design a consumer-oriented package that complements the taste and aroma of ready-to-drink chilled-cup coffee beverages by using the food kansei model, the effects of the diameter and the color of drinking straws as well as the cognition terms of coffee on consumer sensory characteristics and preferences were investigated. Variance and factor analyses of the sensory scores for chilled-cup coffee with milk and sugar using straws of different diameters, as rated by consumer panelists, extracted two perceived factors (F1, contribution ratio 36.5%, and F2, 28.6%). A two-dimensional plot of the average F1 and F2 scores of 123 panelists showed that the perceived characteristics of the same taste and aroma varied according to the straw diameter. An image investigation of different straw colors and another sensory evaluation using “black,” “brown,” and “green” straws were also performed. A principal component analysis of the image data revealed that the sensory characteristics of coffee with milk and sugar were imaged from the straw color. The second evaluation suggested that the images of straw colors affected the sensory characteristics. In addition, cluster and multiple-comparison analyses of Internet research data from consumers regarding the cognition terms for coffee exhibited three clusters representing the cognitive characteristics of terms by consumers and by developers and the differences of attractiveness degree on the cognition terms due to the consumers’ personal attributes. These studies provide useful information for the development of packages of chilled-cup coffee beverages.     

NUMERICAL SOLUTIONS OF THERMOELASTIC WAVE PROBLEMS BY THE METHOD OF CHARACTERISTICS

This article is concerned with the numerical treatment of thermal and thermal stress waves in thermoelastic solids. To keep the numerical treatment general, the development of the formulation is based on the generalized theory of thermoelasticity. A number of thermoelastic wave problems, which involve one or two space variables, are treated, in a uniform manner, by a system of first-order partial differential equations with stress, velocity, heat flow, and temperature as dependent variables. This system of equations is analyzed by the method of characteristics, yielding the characteristics and the characteristic equations. Procedures of numerical integration along the characteristics are established and carried out for several generalized and classical thermoelastic wave problems in homogeneous materials, composite materials, nonhomogeneous materials, and nonlinear elastic solids.     

TTT System (50 Mbits/s PCM-TDMA System With Time Preassignment and TASI) and Its Satellite Test Results

An experimental 50 Mbits/s pulse-code modulation-time-division multiple access (PCM-TDMA) system with time preassignment and time-assignment speech interpolation (TASI) features (called the TTT system) was built for use in a satellite test. This system was designed for application in the INTELSAT IV network and has the channel capacity of more than 700 telephone channels. This capacity can be increased up to twice when pulse-code modulation-time-assignment speech interpolation (PCM-TASI) is adopted. The field test was conducted via INTELSAT III in 1970 and satisfactory results were obtained, which encourages the introduction of the TDMA system for commercial use.     

Spectral mixture analysis for bi-sensor wetland mapping using Landsat TM and Terra MODIS data

Spatial and temporal resolution is essential for understanding the spatial and temporal characteristics and dynamics of wetland ecosystems. However, single satellite imagery with both high spatial resolution and high temporal frequency is currently unavailable. Instead, the development of a bi-sensor monitoring technique utilizing spatial details of middle-to-high resolution data and temporal details of coarse spatial resolution data is highly desirable. For the initial work on our time-series bi-sensor wetland mapping, the applicability of multiple endmember spectral mixture analysis (MESMA) using single-date bi-sensor imagery with different orbiting periods was investigated. Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper (TM) and Terra Moderate Resolution Image Spectrometer (MODIS) data were utilized in the Poyang Lake area in China and the Great Salt Lake area in the USA to examine three decisive elements in utilizing MESMA: (1) the method of optimal endmember selection; (2) the threshold between two- and three-endmember models; and (3) the treatment of shade fractions. As a result, we found that (1) the number of spectra for an endmember spectrum similar to other endmember spectra meeting the modelling restrictions of maximum and minimum land-cover fractions and root mean square error (RMSE) within a class (In_CoB), the number of spectra for an endmember spectrum similar to other endmember spectra meeting the modelling restrictions outside of a class (Out_CoB), the ratio of In_CoB to Out_CoB multiplied by the inverse number of spectra within the class (CoBI) and the endmember average RMSE (EAR) were optimal endmember selection methods for the TM maps, whereas CoBI, EAR and minimum average spectral angle (MASA) were optimal endmember selection methods for the MODIS maps; (2) the MODIS maps were more sensitive to change in the two- and three-endmember modelling thresholds than the TM maps; and (3) the addition of shade fractions to dark water fractions were an appropriate shade treatment. This research demonstrated how MESMA can be applied for multi-scale mapping of wetland ecosystems, how the difference in observation dates between the TM and MODIS data affects the agreement in land-cover fractions and how spectral similarity between dark water and shade affects the agreement in land-cover fractions.     

THERMALLY INDUCED STRESS WAVES IN FUNCTIONALLY GRADED MATERIALS WITH TEMPERATURE-DEPENDENT MATERIAL PROPERTIES

This article is concerned with the dynamic treatment of thermally induced stress waves in an infinite elastic plate subjected to impulsive electromagnetic radiation. The plate is assumed to be a functionally graded material (FGM), meaning that the material is composed of multiconstituents in ceramics and metals, the volume fractions of which distribute continuously inside the material. The mathematical problem is one of wave propagation in a typical nonhomogeneous material The radiation absorption is assumed to occur at a constant rate for the duration of the pulse and to diminish exponentially with distance from the surface of the plate, assuming negligible heat conduction. In treating problems, the nature of the stress-wave buildup in the plate is studied for the case of a temperature-dependent solid, that is, when material properties vary with temperature. The numerical procedure employs the characteristic method based on the integration of the governing equations along the characteristics. Numerical calculations are carried out for ceramic-metal FGM plates showing the influences of the temperature-dependent material properties and the volume fractions of the phases composing the FGM on the magnitude of the dynamic thermal stresses.     

Synergistic action of Sb2O3 with bromine-containing flame retardant in polyolefins. 1—the variance in their performance versus Sb/Br ratio

The synergistic action of antimony (Sb) with bromine (Br) was studied for polypropylene-2,3-dibromopropylpentabromophenyl ether–Sb₂O₃ systems at various Sb/Br molar ratios. Oxygen index, weight loss rate and heating value were used to evaluate the retardant effect. Bromine and antimony emission and their material balances were measured by gravimetric and X-ray fluorometric analysis of heated samples at each reaction time. Retarded HBr formation in the gaseous phase through SbBr₃, SbOBr and Sb₄O₅Br₂ was proved by X-ray diffraction analysis of heated residues and model products. SbBr₃ and HBr formation were greatest at Sb/Br ratios of 1/3 and 1/4, respectively, while the highest oxygen index and the lowest weight loss rate and heating value were obtained at 1/4. Consequently, HBr will most probably produce the retardant effect rather than SbBr₃. Effective synergistic action at the Sb/Br ratio of 1/4 is explained by presuming the formation of an acidic HBr.SbBr₃ complex in the molten phase for the particular reaction pattern of bromine in 2,3-dibromopropylpentabromophenyl either.