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Stress radiography is known as an important diagnostic tool for confirming mechanical instability in patients with chronic ankle instability. However, there are no reports on how muscle guarding caused by the stress applied on the ankle during stress radiography affects test outcomes. Thus, this study aimed to analyze the effects of muscle guarding caused by stress radiography on outcomes by performing stress radiography before and after anesthesia. This is a prospective study involving 32 patients who were diagnosed with chronic ankle instability through patient history, physical examination, and magnetic resonance imaging studies. Varus and anterior drawer stress radiographs were taken before and after anesthesia in the operating room, and the findings were compared. On the post-anesthesia stress radiographs of the affected ankle, talar tilt and talar anterior translation were significantly increased by 2.55° ± 2.64° and 1.54 ± 2.03 mm, respectively (mean ± standard deviation; p <.05). These parameters were also significantly increased by 2.08° ± 2.62° and 1.27 ± 1.37 mm, p <.05, on the post-anesthesia radiographs of the unaffected ankle. Before anesthesia, 26 of 32 patients had positive stress radiographs, but 31 patients had positive results after anesthesia. Talar tilt and talar anterior translation significantly increased after anesthesia. Therefore, in CAI patients, efforts to reduce muscle guarding should be made before stress radiographs are taken. Moreover, when interpreting results, it should be noted that muscle guarding might have reduced the measurements of stress radiographs, leading to diagnostic false negatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies have reported the relevance of depression on clinical outcomes after knee or hip arthroplasty. However, no study has investigated this relationship in total ankle arthroplasty (TAA). This study aimed to study the relationship between depressive symptoms and clinical outcomes after TAA. This retrospective comparative study investigated 40 patients who underwent TAA for end-stage ankle arthritis. Depressive symptoms were evaluated using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale and Patient Health Questionnaire-9. Preoperative and postoperative clinical outcomes were compared using the visual analog scale (VAS) and American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) ankle-hindfoot scores by classifying the subjects into depressive and nondepressive groups. The mean follow-up duration was 24.3 ± 7.3 (range 14 to 37) months. There were 13 and 27 subjects in the depressive and nondepressive groups, respectively. There were no significant differences in the baseline characteristics and preoperative VAS and AOFAS scores between them. The postoperative VAS score was significantly higher in the depressive group (3.1 ± 2.4) than in the nondepressive group (1.4 ± 2.3; p <.001). The postoperative AOFAS scores in the depressive and nondepressive groups were 89.3 ± 13.4 and 95.0 ± 8.1, respectively, showing a significantly superior result in the latter group (p <.001). The clinical outcomes after TAA were poorer in the patients with depressive symptoms than in those without. Depressive symptoms are patient-specific factors or independent predictors that show less improvement after TAA. Therefore, clinical considerations of these symptoms are essential before TAA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Endocrine treatment is recommended by clinical guidelines as the preferred treatment option for premenopausal as well as postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer. In real-world clinical practice, however, a substantial number of patients are treated with chemotherapy. We aimed to compare the clinical antitumour activity and safety of palbociclib plus endocrine therapy with that of capecitabine chemotherapy in premenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer.Methods: This multicentre, open-label, randomised, phase 2 study was done in 14 academic institutions in South Korea. Premenopausal women aged 19 years or older with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer that had relapsed or progressed during previous tamoxifen therapy and with an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0-2 were included. One line of previous chemotherapy for metastatic breast cancer was allowed. Patients were randomly assigned, using a random permuted block design (with a block size of two), to receive palbociclib plus combination endocrine therapy (oral exemestane 25 mg per day for 28 days and oral palbociclib 125 mg per day for 21 days every 4 weeks plus leuprolide 3·75 mg subcutaneously every 4 weeks) or chemotherapy (oral capecitabine 1250 mg/m2 twice daily for 2 weeks every 3 weeks). Randomisation was stratified by previous chemotherapy for metastatic breast cancer and visceral metastasis. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival. All analyses were done in a modified intention-to-treat population that excluded patients who did not receive study medication. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02592746, and is ongoing for follow-up of overall survival.Findings: Between June 15, 2016, and Dec 10, 2018, 189 patients were enrolled, of whom 184 were randomly assigned to the palbociclib plus endocrine therapy group (n=92) or the capecitabine group (n=92). Six patients in the capecitabine group withdrew from the study before drug administration; therefore, 92 patients in the palbociclib plus endocrine therapy group and 86 patients in the capecitabine group were included in the modified intention-to-treat analyses. 46 (50%) of 92 patients in the palbociclib plus endocrine therapy group and 45 (51%) of 92 in the capecitabine group were treatment naive for metastatic breast cancer. During a median follow-up of 17 months (IQR 9-22), median progression-free survival was 20·1 months (95% CI 14·2-21·8) in the palbociclib plus endocrine therapy group versus 14·4 months (12·1-17·0) in the capecitabine group (hazard ratio 0·659 [95% CI 0·437-0·994], one-sided log-rank p=0·0235). Treatment-related grade 3 or worse neutropenia was more common in the palbociclib plus endocrine therapy group than in the capecitabine group (69 [75%] of 92 vs 14 [16%] of 86 patients). 2 (2%) patients in the palbociclib plus endocrine therapy group and 15 (17%) patients in the capecitabine group had treatment-related serious adverse events. No treatment-related deaths occurred.Interpretation: Exemestane plus palbociclib with ovarian function suppression showed clinical benefit compared with capecitabine in terms of improved progression-free survival in premenopausal patients with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer. Palbociclib plus exemestane with ovarian suppression is an active treatment option in premenopausal patients with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer who have been pretreated with tamoxifen.Funding: Pfizer, Shinpoong, and Daewoong Korea and Takeda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We aimed to explore serum biomarkers for predicting survival of older patients with metastatic solid tumors who received first line palliative chemotherapy. Serum samples were prospectively collected before first-line chemotherapy at 11 academic centers in Korea. All patients were participants in a prospective cohort study of older patients with metastatic solid tumors. Serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), CXCL10, SIRT1, VEGF-A, activin A, C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (CTx), total 25-hydroxyvitamin D were measured by ELISA and interleukin-6 (IL-6), myostatin, irisin, FGF-19, FGF-21, FGF-23 by Luminex multiplex assay. Overall survival (OS) was determined. Serum samples from 138 patients (median age: 75 years, range: 70–92 years) were collected from February 2014 to December 2016. During a median follow up time of 13.8 months, 73 (52.9%) patients died. Among 13 serum markers, CRP (log-rank, P = 0.009), activin A (P = 0.007), and myostatin (P = 0.047) were significantly correlated with OS in univariate analyses. Activin A (hazard ratio [HR] 2.22, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.32–3.72; P = 0.003) and myostatin (HR 3.02, 95% CI 1.39–6.57; P = 0.005) were significantly associated with OS after adjustment for other clinical factors. In predicting early (6-month) mortality, two inflammatory markers, IL-6 and CRP, were included in the decision-tree model. In older patients with cancer, high serum concentrations of activin A and myostatin were predictive of poor OS. IL-6 and CRP might be useful to select older patients at risk of early mortality. These markers could be incorporated into predictive tools for clinical decision-making and warrant further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • FKBP5 is involved in human stress responses and regulation of HPA axis. • An interaction effect of FKBP5 genotype and PTSD status on FKBP5 methylation level. • The risk allele of rs1360780 was associated with lower FKBP5 methylation levels. • Genetic and epigenetic modulation of FKBP5 may play a role in PTSD pathophysiology. Abstract Background FK506-binding protein 5 (FKBP5) binds to glucocorticoid receptors and modulates glucocorticoid sensitivity. The FKBP5 gene has been implicated in the dysregulation of human stress responses, contributing to the risk and treatment response of stress-related disorders. The present study examined whether epigenetic changes in FKBP5 are associated with chronic post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) status in the context of FKBP5 genetic variation (rs1360780 polymorphism) among male veterans exposed to combat trauma. Methods Korean male veterans who served on active duty during the Vietnam War were categorized into 2 groups: with PTSD (n = 123) and without PTSD (n = 116). The genotype of FKBP5 rs1360780 and DNA methylation levels of two CpG sites at the FKBP5 intron 7 region were assessed in peripheral blood. Analysis of covariance was performed to examine main and interaction effects of PTSD status and FKBP5 genotype on FKBP5 DNA methylation level, with age, trauma levels, and alcohol use as covariates. Results A significant main effect of FKBP5 rs1360780 and PTSD and an interaction effect between genotype and PTSD status were found on mean FKBP5 DNA methylation level. The T allele of rs1360780 was associated with lower FKBP5 methylation level. In addition, the PTSD group showed significantly higher methylation than did the non-PTSD group among veterans carrying the risk T allele (n = 96), while no group difference was observed on methylation levels among veterans with the CC genotype (n = 143). Among veterans carrying the T allele, FKBP5 methylation levels were positively correlated with the severity of PTSD symptoms. Conclusions The present study demonstrated different FKBP5 methylation levels in PTSD depending on FKBP5 genetic variation among veterans exposed to combat trauma. The present finding suggests that the genetic and epigenetic modulation of FKBP5 is involved in the pathophysiology of PTSD. Further longitudinal research involving people exposed to trauma is required to understand causal relationships of FKBP5 in the development and recovery of PTSD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: If the balance of the rotator cuff force couple is disrupted, pseudoparalysis may occur, but the exact mechanism remains unknown. This study investigated the effect of rotator cuff force couple disruption on active range of motion in massive rotator cuff tear (mRCT) by rotator cuff muscle volume analysis. Methods: The study included 53 patients with irreparable mRCT: 22 in the nonpseudoparalysis group and 31 in the pseudoparalysis group. The volumes of the subscapularis (SBS), infraspinatus (ISP), and teres minor (TM) muscles were measured using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and the ratios of each muscle volume to the anatomic external rotator (aER) volume were calculated. A control group of 25 individuals with normal rotator cuffs was included. Results Anterior-to-posterior cuff muscle volume ratio (SBS/ISP + TM) was imbalanced in both mRCT groups (1.383 nonpseudoparalysis and 1.302 pseudoparalysis). Between the 2 groups, the ISP/aER ratio (0.277 vs. 0.249) and the inferior SBS/aER ratio (0.426 vs. 0.390) were significantly decreased in the pseudoparalysis group ( P   =  .022 and P   =  .040, respectively). However, neither the TM/aER ratio (0.357 vs. 0.376) nor the superior SBS/aER ratio (0.452 vs. 0.424) showed a significant difference between the two groups ( P   =  .749 and P   =  .068, respectively). If the inferior SBS was torn, a high frequency of pseudoparalysis was noted (81.0%, P   =  .010). Conclusion: The disruption of transverse force couple was noted in both irreparable mRCT groups, although no significant difference was found between the nonpseudoparalysis and pseudoparalysis groups. ISP and inferior SBS muscle volumes showed a significant decrease in pseudoparalysis group and, therefore, were considered to greatly influence the loss of active motion in mRCT. The TM did not exert significant effect on the incidence of pseudoparalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drug discovery aims to select proper targets and drug candidates to address unmet clinical needs. The end-to-end drug discovery process includes all stages of drug discovery from target identification to drug candidate selection. Recently, several artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML)-based drug discovery companies have attempted to build data-driven platforms spanning the end-to-end drug discovery process. The ability to identify elusive targets essentially leads to the diversification of discovery pipelines, thereby increasing the ability to address unmet needs. Modern ML technologies are complementing traditional computer-aided drug discovery by accelerating candidate optimization in innovative ways. This review summarizes recent developments in AI/ML methods from target identification to molecule optimization, and concludes with an overview of current industrial trends in end-to-end AI/ML platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes an assessment of vulnerability to global damage of a dry storage structure subjected to postulated commercial aircraft crashes. The vulnerability from plausible collisions of an aircraft is expressed by failed volume fraction in distribution curves obtained from an integrated deterministic and probabilistic approach. Nonlinear dynamic analyses are performed using smoothed particle hydrodynamics and finite element method to simulate the aircraft impact and the subsequent reinforced concrete damage. The response surface method, polynomial regressions and Monte Carlo simulation are employed for the probabilistic assessment. Failure probabilities of damage for three predefined response modes are estimated at side and upper impact locations. Resultant probabilities under these scenarios were relatively high and, thus, global resistance of the structure to withstand aircraft crashes is generally low. The outcomes of this study can be incorporated into quantitative evaluation within a probabilistic risk assessment framework and associated with further numerical analysis methodologies. [Display omitted] • Integrated deterministic and probabilistic approach is proposed to evaluate structural damage induced by aircraft impacts. • SPH-FE coupling method is applied to simulate postulated aircraft crashes on a dry storage facility. • Response surface, polynomial regression, and Monte Carlo simulation methods are employed to quantify the structural damage. • The probability of damage is estimated at two impact locations according to variations in impact velocity and angle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Postulated high energy line breaks have been considered as a part of design of nuclear safety-related structures, systems and components for a long time. However, recently, technical controversy was raised over the adequacy in assumption of complex phenomena and assessment of dynamic loads. This study is to address blast wave evaluation under a typical main steam line break condition of 1,400MWe power plant. At first, a mock-up facility was developed and six tests were performed by changing rupture pressures and target distances. Corresponding computational fluid dynamics analyses were also carried out after optimization of numerical model. Finally, pressure – time histories caused by plant specific blast wave were generated in use of a theoretical correlation, which were applied to finite element analyses of neighboring steam generator and containment wall. Integrity assessment results as well as the details of tests and analyses data were provided, and their applicability was discussed. • Pipe break tests were performed to examine HELB-induced blast wave. • Test results were supplemented by optimized CFD analyses. • Dynamic loads were determined through a theoretical correlation. • Integrity of typical SSCs was assessed for a 1400MWe plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the present study is to evaluate whether findings of instability on preoperative stress radiographs of patients with chronic ankle instability affects the radiographic and clinical outcomes after a modified Broström procedure. A total of 45 consecutive patients (45 ankles) who had undergone the modified Broström procedure for unilateral ankle joint instability and were followed up for ≥2 years were selected. The patients were classified into 2 groups according to the results of the preoperative stress radiographs: 1 group with positive findings (35 [77.8%] patients; stress-positive group) and 1 group with negative findings (10 [22.2%] patients; stress-negative group). The radiographic and clinical outcomes were compared between the 2 groups. The mean preoperative talar tilt measured on the stress radiograph was 14.4° ± 4.2° and 4.8° ± 2.6° in the stress-positive and stress-negative groups, respectively, a statistically significant difference. Postoperative talar tilt improved in both groups, with a mean final talar tilt of 5.4° ± 3.4° in the stress-positive group ( p < .001) and 3.0° ± 1.5° in the stress-negative group ( p = .038). The average American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society ankle-hindfoot score in the stress-positive and stress-negative groups improved from 65.1 ± 14.6 to 90.0 ± 6.3 ( p < .001) and 72.5 ± 9.3 to 92.6 ± 7.8 ( p = .007), respectively. The mean postoperative satisfaction rate was 83.9 ± 11.9 and 85.0 ± 11.8 in the 2 groups. No statistically significant differences were seen in the preoperative and postoperative American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society ankle-hindfoot scores or in postoperative satisfaction rates between the 2 groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tin oxide coating by employing electron cyclotron resonance metal–organic chemical vapor deposition was performed on 5 V-class spinel LiNi 0.5 Mn 1.5 O 4 cathode electrodes prepared by a conventional tape-casting method. The pristine and SnO 2 -deposited LiNi 0.5 Mn 1.5 O 4 electrodes were characterized by X-ray diffraction, field-emission electron probe microanalyzer, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, Auger electron spectroscopy, charge–discharge measurements, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were evaluated in lithium cells using the fabricated electrodes. The SnO 2 -deposited LiNi 0.5 Mn 1.5 O 4 electrodes exhibited better rate capability at room temperature and superior electrochemical performance during the storage test evaluated at 60 °C in a fully charged state than the pristine LiNi 0.5 Mn 1.5 O 4 electrode. Also, surface modification of the LiNi 0.5 Mn 1.5 O 4 electrode was found by impedance analyses to be effective for suppressing the increase of the charge transfer resistance during the storage test at elevated temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] The electrode is prepared by electrodeposition and then heat-treatment of iridium oxide. [•] The electrode exhibits the near-Nernstian pH response of 59.5 (±1) mV/pH. [•] Hysteresis of the electrode is negligible in the reversibility test. [•] The potential deviation is less than 10mV between the electrodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Nickel supported γ-alumina (Ni/γ-Al2O3) catalysts are well-known to be highly active on the autothermal reforming of methane, but to be unstable due to coke deposition. Cerium oxide (CeO2) is one of promising promoter to overcome the fast deactivation of nickel-based catalysts by coke formation. Herein, catalytic behavior of CeO2 over Ni/γ-Al2O3 catalysts on the autothermal reforming of methane was investigated. The catalytic activity was maintained for 100 h with H2/CO molar ratio of 1.9. The formation of CeAlO3 is observed at the reduction and reaction conditions. In this work, it was found that the formation of CeAlO3 promoted the catalytic oxidation toward CO2 and prevented the formation of α-Al2O3 and nickel-aluminate, resulting in stable activity for autothermal reforming of methane. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Spider silk has been drawing much attention as a great biomaterial having many applications in biotechnology and biomedicine owing to its several desired material characteristics such as outstanding strength, toughness, and elasticity as well as biodegradability and biocompatibility. With various applications foreseeable in industry, there has been much effort to produce recombinant spider silk protein in large amounts. However, owing to the difficulties in its production using spiders, alternative host systems and engineering methods have been investigated to develop suitable production systems that can efficiently produce spider silk protein. Here, we review recent advances in production of spider silk proteins in various heterologous host systems with focus given on the development of metabolic and cellular engineering strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Introduction: Patients with metastatic thyroid cancers that do not uptake iodine need effective therapeutic option. Differentiation-inducing agents have been tried to restore functional expression of sodium iodide symporter (NIS) without success. Our objective was to assess the effect of alpha-lipoic acid (ALA), known as potential antioxidant, on expression of sodium iodide symporter in thyroid cancer cells. Methods: Human thyroid cancer-derived cell lines, TPC-1, were treated with ALA, and changes in NIS mRNA and protein expression were measured. ALA''s effect on NIS gene promoter was evaluated, and functional NIS expression was assessed by iodide uptake assay. Results: Treatment with ALA increased NIS mRNA expression up to ten folds of control dose-dependently after 24 h of exposure. ALA increased NIS promoter activity, and increased iodide uptake by 1.6 fold. ALA induced expression of NIS protein, but had no significant effect on the plasma membrane trafficking. ALA increased phosphorylation of CREB and nuclear translocation of pCREB, and co-treatment of ALA and trichostatin A increased iodide uptake by three folds in TPC-1 cells. Conclusions: ALA is a potential agent to increase NIS transcription in TPC-1. It could be used as an adjunctive agent to increase efficacy of radioiodine therapy if combined with a strategy to increase NIS protein trafficking to cell membrane. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In the last decade, reconstruction and applications of genome-scale metabolic models have greatly influenced the field of systems biology by providing a platform on which high-throughput computational analysis of metabolic networks can be performed. The last two years have seen an increase in volume of more than 33% in the number of published genome-scale metabolic models, signifying a high demand for these metabolic models in studying specific organisms. The diversity in modeling different types of cells, from photosynthetic microorganisms to human cell types, also demonstrates their growing influence in biology. Here we review the recent advances and current state of genome-scale metabolic models, the methods employed towards ensuring high quality models, their biotechnological applications, and the progress towards the automated reconstruction of genome-scale metabolic models. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Metabolic engineering has contributed significantly to the enhanced production of various value-added and commodity chemicals and materials from renewable resources in the past two decades. Recently, metabolic engineering has been upgraded to the systems level (thus, systems metabolic engineering) by the integrated use of global technologies of systems biology, fine design capabilities of synthetic biology, and rational–random mutagenesis through evolutionary engineering. By systems metabolic engineering, production of natural and unnatural chemicals and materials can be better optimized in a multiplexed way on a genome scale, with reduced time and effort. Here, we review the recent trends in systems metabolic engineering for the production of chemicals and materials by presenting general strategies and showcasing representative examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metabolic engineering has enabled us to develop strains suitable for their use as microbial factories of chemicals and materials from renewable sources. It has recently become more powerful with the advanced in synthetic biology, which is allowing us to create novel and fine-controlled metabolic and regulatory circuits maximizing metabolic fluxes to the desired products in the strain being developed. This enables us to engineer host microorganisms to enhance their innate metabolic capabilities or to gain new capabilities in the production of target compounds. Here we review recently constructed synthetic pathways that have been successfully applied for producing non-innate chemicals and also discuss recent approaches developed to increase the efficiency of synthetic pathways for achieving higher productivities of desired bioproducts. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

During the past decade, bottom-up and top-down approaches of network reconstruction have greatly facilitated integration and analysis of biological networks, including transcriptional, protein interaction, and metabolic networks. As increasing amounts of multidimensional high-throughput data become available, biological networks have also been upgraded, allowing more accurate understanding of whole cellular characteristics. The network size is constantly expanding as larger volume of information and omics data are further integrated into the biological networks previously built upon a single type of data. Such effort more recently led to the modeling of human metabolic network and prediction of its tissue-specific metabolism, reconstruction of consensus yeast metabolic network, and simulation of mutual interactions among multiple microorganisms. It is expected that this trend will continue, the outcomes of which will allow development of more sophisticated networks integrating diverse omics data, and enhance our understanding of biological systems. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Random mutagenesis and selection approaches used traditionally for the development of industrial strains have largely been complemented by metabolic engineering, which allows purposeful modification of metabolic and cellular characteristics by using recombinant DNA and other molecular biological techniques. As systems biology advances as a new paradigm of research thanks to the development of genome-scale computational tools and high-throughput experimental technologies including omics, systems metabolic engineering allowing modification of metabolic, regulatory and signaling networks of the cell at the systems-level is becoming possible. In silico genome-scale metabolic model and its simulation play increasingly important role in providing systematic strategies for metabolic engineering. The in silico genome-scale metabolic model is developed using genomic annotation, metabolic reactions, literature information, and experimental data. The advent of in silico genome-scale metabolic model brought about the development of various algorithms to simulate the metabolic status of the cell as a whole. In this paper, we review the algorithms developed for the system-wide simulation and perturbation of cellular metabolism, discuss the characteristics of these algorithms, and suggest future research direction. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This study presents an in-depth study on the physiological behavior of Mannheimia succiniciproducens, a capnophilic bacterium and an efficient succinic acid producer, under varying gas conditions as H2 and CO2 play important roles in the production of succinic acid. Constraints-based flux analysis of the genome-scale metabolic model of M. succiniciproducens was performed to estimate the production patterns of several organic acids in response to varying H2, CO2, and glucose uptake rates. Results from controlled cultivations performed previously and constraints-based flux analyses of M. succiniciproducens in this study revealed that there is an optimal range of CO2 level in the medium for enhancing cell growth and succinic acid production at a given glucose uptake rate. Furthermore, the uptake rates of H2 and CO2 from the medium have a direct relationship with each other, significantly influencing the rates of cell growth and succinic acid production. Predictions made in this study quantitatively describe the physiological changes of the cell in response to varying H2, CO2, and glucose uptake rates, which consequently allow us to identify the feasible physiological states of the cell with respect to cell growth rate and succinic acid production rate. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, a novel method for accurate subject tracking, by selecting only tracked subject boundary edges in a video stream with a changing background and moving camera, is proposed. This boundary edge selection is achieved in two steps: (1) removing background edges using edge motion, and from the output of the previous step, (2) selecting boundary edges using a normal direction derivative of the tracked contour. Accurate tracking is based on reduction of the effects of irrelevant edges, by only selecting boundary edge pixels. In order to remove background edges using edge motion, the tracked subject motion is computed and edge motions and edges having different motion directions from the subjects are removed. In selecting boundary edges using the normal contour direction, the image gradient values on every edge pixel are computed, and edge pixels with large gradient values are selected. Multi-level Canny edge maps are used to obtain proper details of a scene. Multi-level edge maps allow tracking, even though the tracked object boundary has complex edges, since the detail level of an edge map for the scene can be adjusted. A process of final routing is deployed in order to obtain a detailed contour. The computed contour is improved by checking against a strong Canny edge map and hiring strong Canny edge pixels around the computed contour using Dijkstra''s minimum cost routing. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed tracking approach is robust enough to handle a complex-textured scene in a mobile camera environment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

As the ambitions of synthetic biology approach genome-scale engineering, comprehensive characterization of cellular systems is required, as well as a means to accurately model cell-scale molecular interactions. These requirements are coincident with the goals of systems biology and, thus, systems biology will become the foundation for genome-scale synthetic biology. Systems biology will form this foundation through its efforts to reconstruct and integrate cellular systems, develop the mathematics, theory and software tools for the accurate modeling of these integrated systems, and through evolutionary mechanisms. As genome-scale synthetic biology is so enabled, it will prove to be a positive feedback driver of systems biology by exposing and forcing researchers to confront those aspects of systems biology which are inadequately understood. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The behavior of nanometer-sized polar clusters is considered to be of central importance to the understanding of relaxor ferroelectricity. The size of the polar clusters with tetragonal symmetry in PbTiO3-based relaxors was estimated by analyzing the degree of asymmetric Raman line broadening. It was shown that the mean size (L) of the tetragonal polar clusters remained essentially constant with L approximately 1.2 nm for temperatures above 300 K. The estimated L increases rapidly below a certain critical temperature, suggesting a rapid growth of the frozen polar clusters with the same tetragonal symmetry. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Selective methane oxidation is one of the key challenges in modern chemistry. To increase the value-added chemical production, the oxidation state of active metals should be easily converted to oxidized or reduced states in order to adsorb or provide an oxygen atom efficiently into methane. Here, we firstly report that lithium incorporating molybdenum oxide with silica supports significantly enhances HCHO production in virtue of redox-driven restructuring of active molybdenum sites. In reduction conditions under CH 4 flow, lithium ions are inserted into the molybdenum-oxide phase by forming lithium molybdenum oxide (Li y MoO 3) nanoclusters and conversely extracted by O 2 oxidation. Due to the redox migration of lithium ions and reconstruction of Li y MoO 3 nanoclusters under the reaction process, the oxidation state of active molybdenum centers is effectively controlled to both oxidized and reduced states. These findings provide insight into the distinct role of lithium ions in various catalytic systems and suggest new strategies for developing active sites for selective oxidation area. [Display omitted] • 0.7Li-MoO x /SiO 2 catalyst shows maximum HCHO production, sustaining the excellent level of HCHO selectivity. • Li ions are inserted into MoO x phase under reductive conditions (H 2 or CH 4) and extracted under oxidative conditions (O 2). • The Mo oxidation state is controlled to both oxidized and reduced state by migration of Li ions during methane oxidation. • The redox-driven restructuring of Li y MoO 3 nanoclusters lowers the free-energy barrier of CH 4 and O 2 conversion steps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]