Concordance of iron indices in homozygote and heterozygote sibling pairs in hemochromatosis families: implications for family screening

Background/Aims: Concordance of iron indices between same sex siblings homozygous for the cysteine-to-tyrosine substitution at amino acid 282 (C282Y) mutation suggests that the variable phenotype in hereditary hemochromatosis is caused by genetic factors. Concordance of iron indices between same-sex heterozygous sibling pairs would provide further evidence of genetic modifiers of disease expression, and guidance for family screening strategies of subjects heterozygous for the C282Y mutation. Methods: We compared the iron indices of 35 C282Y homozygous and 35 C282Y heterozygous same-sex sibling pairs. To clarify whether concordance between siblings was due to environmental or genetic factors we compared the iron indices of 164 C282Y homozygous-normal, same-sex dizygotic twins. Results: Serum ferritin (r = 0.50, P = 0.003), hepatic iron concentration (r = 0.61, P = 0.025) and hepatic iron index (r = 0.67, P = 0.01) were highly concordant in C282Y homozygotes. Heterozygote siblings were concordant for serum ferritin (r = 0.76, P = 0.0001) and transferrin saturation (r = 0.79, P = 0.0001). Homozygote-normal same-sex dizygotic twins were concordant for serum ferritin (r = 0.62, P = 0.0001) but not for transferrin saturation. Conclusions: Concordance of iron indices exists in C282Y homozygote and heterozygote sibling pairs. Siblings of expressing C282Y heterozygotes require phenotypic assessment. These data provide evidence for modifying genes influencing disease expression in hemochromatosis. (C) 2002 European Association for the Study of the Liver. Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Are wing size, wing shape and asymmetry related to field fitness of Trichogramma egg parasitoids?

The effects of wing shape, wing size, and fluctuating asymmetry in these measures oil the field fitness of T. nr. brassicae and T. pretiosum were investigated. Trichogramma wasps mass-reared on eggs of the factitious host Sitotroga cerealella were released in tomato paddocks and those females ovipositing on Helicoverpo spp. eggs were recaptured. Comparisons of the recaptured group with a sample from the release population were used to assess fitness. Wing data were obtained by positioning landmarks on mounted forewings. Size was then measured as the centroid size computed from landmark distances, while Procrustes analysis followed by principal component analysis was used to assess wing shape. Similar findings were obtained for both Trichogramma species: fitness of wasps was strongly related to wing size and some shape dimensions, but not to the asymmetries of these measures. Wasps which performed well in the field had larger wings and a different wing shape compared to wasps from the mass reared population. Both size and the shape dimensions were linearly associated with fitness although there was also some evidence for non-linear selection on shape. The results suggest that wing shape and wing size are reliable predictors of field fitness for these Trichogramma wasps.

Enhanced effector and memory CTL responses generated by incorporation of receptor activator of NF-kappa B(RANK)/RANK ligand costimulatory molecules into dendritic cell immunogens expressing a human tumor-specific antigen

The outcome of dendritic cell (DC) presentation of Ag to T cells via the TCR/MHC synapse is determined by second signaling through CD80/86 and, importantly, by ligation of costimulatory ligands and receptors located at the DC and T cell surfaces. Downstream signaling triggered by costimulatory molecule ligation results in reciprocal DC and T cell activation and survival, which predisposes to enhanced T cell-mediated immune responses. In this study, we used adenoviral vectors to express a model tumor Ag (the E7 oncoprotein of human papillomavirus 16) with or without coexpression of receptor activator of NF-kappaB (RANK)/RANK ligand (RANKL) or CD40/CD40L costimulatory molecules, and used these transgenic DCs to immunize mice for the generation of E7-directed CD8(+) T cell responses. We show that coexpression of RANK/RANKL, but not CD40/CD40L, in E7-expressing DCs augmented E7-specific IFN-gamma-secreting effector and memory T cells and E7-specific CTLs. These responses were also augmented by coexpression of T cell costimulatory molecules (RANKL and CD40L) or DC costimulatory molecules (RANK and CD40) in the E7-expressing DC immunogens. Augmentation of CTL responses correlated with up-regulation of CD80 and CD86 expression in DCs transduced with costimulatory molecules, suggesting a mechanism for enhanced T cell activation/survival. These results have generic implications for improved tumor Ag-expressing DC vaccines, and specific implications for a DC-based vaccine approach for human papillomavirus 16-associated cervical carcinoma.

Simultaneous selection in progenies of yellow passion fruit using selection indices

This study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of simultaneous selection (selection indices) using estimated genetic gains in yellow passion fruit and to make a comparison between the methodologies of Mulamba & Mock and Elston. The study was conducted with 26 sib progenies of yellow passion fruit for intrinsic production characteristics including fruit number, fruit mass, fruit length and diameter, and for the fruit characteristics skin thickness, soluble solids and acidity. Two methodologies were applied: first, in the joint analysis of fruit characteristics and of intrinsic production characteristics in a single phase of selection; and second, in the analysis in two phases, in which priority was given to the intrinsic production characteristics in the first phase, and later, in the second phase, the best fruit characteristics were chosen among the progenies of the first phase. The analysis of variance was applied to the data to detect genetic variability among progenies. The Elston's selection indice was unable to provide distribution of genetic gains consistent with the purposes of the study, as it selected a single progeny of passion fruit. However, the index based on the sum of ranks of Mulamba & Mock was more suitable, as it provided a balanced distribution of gains, selecting a larger number of progenies. The methodology of selection using indices is advantageous in passion fruit, since it contributes to higher genetic gains for all the traits evaluated, and the selection in a single phase was proved efficient for progeny selection.

Prediction of genetic gain from selection indices for disease resistance in papaya hybrids

In order to select superior hybrids for the concentration of favorable alleles for resistance to papaya black spot, powdery mildew and phoma spot, 67 hybrids were evaluated in two seasons, in 2007, in a randomized block design with two replications. Genetic gains were estimated from the selection indices of Smith & Hazel, Pesek & Baker, Williams, Mulamba & Mock, with selection intensity of 22.39%, corresponding to 15 hybrids. The index of Mulamba & Mock showed gains more suitable for the five traits assessed when it was used the criterion of economic weight tentatively assigned. Together, severity of black spot on leaves and on fruits, characteristics considered most relevant to the selection of resistant materials, expressed percentage gain of -44.15%. In addition, there were gains for other characteristics, with negative predicted selective percentage gain. The results showed that the index of Mulamba & Mock is the most efficient procedure for simultaneous selection of papaya hybrid resistant to black spot, powdery mildew and phoma spot.

Shape and size of jatropha beans (Jatropha curcas L.) during drying at different temperatures

This study was carried out to study the physical properties of the jatropha beans over the drying under six air conditions, based on measurements of roundness, sphericity, volume, superficial area, projected area and surface/volume ratio. Jatropha beans with moisture content around 0.61 (decimal d.b.) were subjected to thin-layer drying in oven with forced-air circulation under six temperature conditions (36, 45, 60, 75, 90 and 105 °C) and relative humidity of 31.7; 19.6; 9.4; 4.8; 2.6 and 1.5% respectively, until reaching the moisture content of 0.11 ± 0.006 (decimal d. b.). The results showed that the necessary time for jatropha beans to reach the moisture content of 0.11 ± 0.006 (decimal d.b.) were 1.5; 2.25; 3.0; 4.75; 6.75 and 12.0 h for the drying temperatures of 105, 90, 75, 60, 45 and 36 °C, respectively; and the reduction in the moisture content as well as the drying conditions promoted changes in the shape and reduced the size of the jatropha beans.

Improving The Robustness Of Interventional 4D Ultrasound Segmentation Through The Use Of Personalized Shape Priors

While fluoroscopy is still the most widely used imaging modality to guide cardiac interventions, the fusion of pre-operative Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) with real-time intra-operative ultrasound (US) is rapidly gaining clinical acceptance as a viable, radiation-free alternative. In order to improve the detection of the left ventricular (LV) surface in 4D ultrasound, we propose to take advantage of the pre-operative MRI scans to extract a realistic geometrical model representing the patients cardiac anatomy. This could serve as prior information in the interventional setting, allowing to increase the accuracy of the anatomy extraction step in US data. We have made use of a real-time 3D segmentation framework used in the recent past to solve the LV segmentation problem in MR and US data independently and we take advantage of this common link to introduce the prior information as a soft penalty term in the ultrasound segmentation algorithm. We tested the proposed algorithm in a clinical dataset of 38 patients undergoing both MR and US scans. The introduction of the personalized shape prior improves the accuracy and robustness of the LV segmentation, as supported by the error reduction when compared to core lab manual segmentation of the same US sequences.

The shape of soap films and Plateau borders

We have calculated the shapes of flat liquid films, and of the transition region to the associated Plateau borders (PBs), by integrating the Laplace equation with a position-dependent surface tension γ(x), where 2x is the local film thickness. We discuss films in either zero or non-zero gravity, using standard γ(x) potentials for the interaction between the two bounding surfaces. We have investigated the effects of the film flatness, liquid underpressure, and gravity on the shape of films and their PBs. Films may exhibit 'humps' and/or 'dips' associated with inflection points and minima of the film thickness. Finally, we propose an asymptotic analytical solution for the film width profile.

Analysis of tongue shape and motion in speech production using statistical modeling

The mechanisms of speech production are complex and have been raising attention from researchers of both medical and computer vision fields. In the speech production mechanism, the articulator’s study is a complex issue, since they have a high level of freedom along this process, namely the tongue, which instigates a problem in its control and observation. In this work it is automatically characterized the tongues shape during the articulation of the oral vowels of Portuguese European by using statistical modeling on MR-images. A point distribution model is built from a set of images collected during artificially sustained articulations of Portuguese European sounds, which can extract the main characteristics of the motion of the tongue. The model built in this work allows under standing more clearly the dynamic speech events involved during sustained articulations. The tongue shape model built can also be useful for speech rehabilitation purposes, specifically to recognize the compensatory movements of the articulators during speech production.

Characterizations of power indices based on null player free winning coalitions

In this paper, we characterize two power indices introduced in [1] using two different modifications of the monotonicity property first stated by [2]. The sets of properties are easily comparable among them and with previous characterizations of other power indices.

Modelling adhesive joints with cohesive zone models: effect of the cohesive law shape of the adhesive layer

Adhesively-bonded joints are extensively used in several fields of engineering. Cohesive Zone Models (CZM) have been used for the strength prediction of adhesive joints, as an add-in to Finite Element (FE) analyses that allows simulation of damage growth, by consideration of energetic principles. A useful feature of CZM is that different shapes can be developed for the cohesive laws, depending on the nature of the material or interface to be simulated, allowing an accurate strength prediction. This work studies the influence of the CZM shape (triangular, exponential or trapezoidal) used to model a thin adhesive layer in single-lap adhesive joints, for an estimation of its influence on the strength prediction under different material conditions. By performing this study, guidelines are provided on the possibility to use a CZM shape that may not be the most suited for a particular adhesive, but that may be more straightforward to use/implement and have less convergence problems (e.g. triangular shaped CZM), thus attaining the solution faster. The overall results showed that joints bonded with ductile adhesives are highly influenced by the CZM shape, and that the trapezoidal shape fits best the experimental data. Moreover, the smaller is the overlap length (LO), the greater is the influence of the CZM shape. On the other hand, the influence of the CZM shape can be neglected when using brittle adhesives, without compromising too much the accuracy of the strength predictions.

Uncertainty assessment approach for composite structures based on global sensitivity indices

The problem of uncertainty propagation in composite laminate structures is studied. An approach based on the optimal design of composite structures to achieve a target reliability level is proposed. Using the Uniform Design Method (UDM), a set of design points is generated over a design domain centred at mean values of random variables, aimed at studying the space variability. The most critical Tsai number, the structural reliability index and the sensitivities are obtained for each UDM design point, using the maximum load obtained from optimal design search. Using the UDM design points as input/output patterns, an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) is developed based on supervised evolutionary learning. Finally, using the developed ANN a Monte Carlo simulation procedure is implemented and the variability of the structural response based on global sensitivity analysis (GSA) is studied. The GSA is based on the first order Sobol indices and relative sensitivities. An appropriate GSA algorithm aiming to obtain Sobol indices is proposed. The most important sources of uncertainty are identified.

Aedes aegypti entomological indices in an endemic area for dengue in Sao Paulo State, Brazil

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the most productive types of properties and containers for Aedes aegypti and the spatial distribution of entomological indices.METHODS: Between December 2006 and February 2007, the vector's immature forms were collected to obtain entomological indices in 9,875 properties in the Jaguare neighborhood of Sao Jose do Rio Preto, SP, Southeastern Brazil. In March and April 2007, a questionnaire about the conditions and characteristics of properties was administered. Logistic regression was used to identify variables associated with the presence of pupae at the properties. Indices calculated per block were combined with a geo-referenced map, and thematic maps of these indices were obtained using statistical interpolation.RESULTS: The properties inspected had the following Ae. aegypti indices: Breteau Index = 18.9, 3.7 larvae and 0.42 pupae per property, 5.2 containers harboring Ae. aegypti per hectare, 100.0 larvae and 11.6 pupae per hectare, and 1.3 larvae and 0.15 pupae per inhabitant. The presence of yards, gardens and animals was associated with the presence of pupae.CONCLUSIONS: Specific types of properties and containers that simultaneously had low frequencies among those positive for the vector and high participation in the productivity of larvae and pupae were not identified. The use of indices including larval and pupal counts does not provide further information beyond that obtained from the traditional Stegomyia indices in locations with characteristics similar to those of São José do Rio Preto. The indices calculated per area were found to be more accurate for the spatial assessment of infestation. The Ae. aegypti infestation levels exhibited extensive spatial variation, indicating that the assessment of infestation in micro areas is needed.

A one-dimensional prescribed curvature equation modeling the corneal shape

We prove existence, uniqueness, and stability of solutions of the prescribed curvature problem (u'/root 1 + u'(2))' = au - b/root 1 + u'(2) in [0, 1], u'(0) = u(1) = 0, for any given a > 0 and b > 0. We also develop a linear monotone iterative scheme for approximating the solution. This equation has been proposed as a model of the corneal shape in the recent paper (Okrasinski and Plociniczak in Nonlinear Anal., Real World Appl. 13:1498-1505, 2012), where a simplified version obtained by partial linearization has been investigated.

Analysis of stock market indices with multidimensional scaling and wavelets

Stock market indices SMIs are important measures of financial and economical performance. Considerable research efforts during the last years demonstrated that these signals have a chaotic nature and require sophisticated mathematical tools for analyzing their characteristics. Classical methods, such as the Fourier transform, reveal considerable limitations in discriminating different periods of time. This paper studies the dynamics of SMI by combining the wavelet transform and the multidimensional scaling MDS . Six continuous wavelets are tested for analyzing the information content of the stock signals. In a first phase, the real Shannon wavelet is adopted for performing the evaluation of the SMI dynamics, while their comparison is visualized by means of the MDS. In a second phase, the other wavelets are also tested, and the corresponding MDS plots are analyzed.