• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.10
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• pp.4285-4289
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• 2015

Purpose: Blood hemoglobin levels are known to influence response to radiotherapy. This retrospective analysis compared the effect of hemoglobin levels upon response to radiation among patients treated with radiation alone (by accelerated hyperfractionated radiotherapy) versus those treated with concurrent cisplatin chemoradiotherapy. Materials and Methods: Among patients treated for locally advanced carcinoma of the cervix (LACC) during 2009-10, a total of 60 fulfilled the eligibility criteria. In this time frame, external beam radiotherapy was delivered with either concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT, n=31) (45Gy over 25 fractions, with weekly cisplatin at 40mg/m2), or with accelerated hyperfractionated radiotherapy (AHRT, n=29) (20Gy over 10 daily fractions over the first two weeks, followed by 30Gy over 20 fractions over the next two weeks, with two fractions of 1.5Gy per day, without the use of chemotherapy). Mean weekly hemoglobin (MWH) levels of all patients were calculated as the arithmetic means of weekly recorded blood hemoglobin levels. As per MWH, patients in both of the AHRT or the CRT groups were classified into two subgroups-those with MWH between 10-10.9g/dL, or with MWH>11g/dL. Complete response (CR) to external beam RT phase (prior to brachytherapy) was declared after clinical examinations and computed tomography. The CR rate was noted for both MWH sub-groups within each of the AHRT and CRT groups. Results: Within the AHRT group, patients with MWH>11g/dL had a much better CR rate in comparison to those with MWH:10-10.9g/dL (80% vs. 21.1%) which was statistically significant (p 0.0045). Within the CRT group, there was no significant difference in the outcomes within the MWH>11g/dL and MWH:10-10.9g/dL sub-groups (CR rates of 80% vs. 61.9%, p=0.4285). Conclusions: The importance of maintaining a minimum hemoglobin level of 11g/dL during RT is much greater for patients treated with RT alone, than for patients treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy. Enhanced haemoglobin levels during RT may to an extent negate the ill-effects that may otherwise arise due to non-use of concurrent chemotherapy.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.214-221
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• 1998

A Brevibacterium ammoniagenes gene coding for glucose/mannose-specific enzyme II ($EII^{Glc}$) of the phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system (PTS) was cloned by complementing an Escherichia coli mutation affecting a ptsG gene, and the complete DNA nucleotide sequence was determined. The cloned gene was identified to be a ptsG, which enables the E. coli transportment to use glucose more efficiently than mannose as the sole carbon source in an M9 minimal medium. The ptsG gene of B. ammoniagenes consists of an open reading frame of 1,983 nucleotides putatively encoding a polypeptide of 661 amino acid residues and a TAA stop codon. The deduced amino acid sequence of the B. ammoniagenes $EII^{Glc}$ shows, at $46\%$, the highest degree of sequence similarity with the Corynebacterium glutamicum EII specific for both glucose and mannose. In addition, the $EII^{Glc}$ shares approximately $30\%$ sequence similarities with sucrose-specific and ${\beta}$-glucoside-specific EIIs of the several bacteria belonging to the glucose-PTS class. The 161-amino-acid C-terminal sequence of $EII^{Glc}$ is also similar to that of E. coli enzyme $IIA^{Glc}$, specific for glucose ($EIIA^{Glc}$). The B. ammoniagenes $EII^{Glc}$ consists of three domains; a hydrophobic region (EIIC) and two hydrophilic regions (EIIA, EIIB). The arrangement of structural domains, IIBCA, of the $EII^{Glc}$ is identical to those of EIIs specific for sucrose or ${\beta}$-glucoside. While the domain IIA was removed from the B. ammoniagenes $EII^{Glc}$ the remaining domains IIBC were found to restore the glucose and mannose-utilizing capacity of E. coli mutant lacking $EII^{Glc}$ activity with $EIIA^{Glc}$ of the E. coli mutant. $EII^{Glc}$ contains a histidine residue and a cysteine residue which are putative phosphorylation sites for the protein.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.331-338
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• 2012

A novel gene coding for an endo-${\beta}$-1,4-mannanase (manA) from Bacillus subtilis strain G1 was cloned and overexpressed in P. pastoris GS115, and the enzyme was purified and characterized. The manA gene consisted of an open reading frame of 1,092 nucleotides, encoding a 364-aa protein, with a predicted molecular mass of 41 kDa. The ${\beta}$-mannanase showed an identity of 90.2-92.9% ${\leq}95%$) with the corresponding amino acid sequences from B. subtilis strains deposited in GenBank. The purified ${\beta}$-mannanase was a monomeric protein on SDS-PAGE with a specific activity of 2,718 U/mg and identified by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. The recombinant ${\beta}$-mannanase had an optimum temperature of $45^{\circ}C$ and optimum pH of 6.5. The enzyme was stable at temperatures up to $50^{\circ}C$ (for 8 h) and in the pH range of 5-9. EDTA and most tested metal ions showed a slightly to an obviously inhibitory effect on enzyme activity, whereas metal ions ($Hg^{2+}$, $Pb^{2+}$, and $Co^{2+}$) substantially inhibited the recombinant ${\beta}$-mannanase. The chemical additives including detergents (Triton X-100, Tween 20, and SDS) and organic solvents (methanol, ethanol, n-butanol, and acetone) decreased the enzyme activity, and especially no enzyme activity was observed by addition of SDS at the concentrations of 0.25-1.0% (w/v) or n-butanol at the concentrations of 20-30% (v/v). These results suggested that the ${\beta}$-mannanase expressed in P. pastoris could potentially be used as an additive in the feed for monogastric animals.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.79-93
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• 2009

This paper investigates the possibility of controlling the response of typical portal frame structures to blast loading using a combination of semi-active and passive control devices. A one storey reinforced concrete portal frame is modelled using non-linear finite elements with each column discretised into multiple elements to capture the higher frequency modes of column vibration response that are typical features of blast responses. The model structure is subjected to blast loads of varying duration, magnitude and shape, and the critical aspects of the response are investigated over a range of structural periods in the form of blast load response spectra. It is found that the shape or length of the blast load is not a factor in the response, as long as the period is less than 25% of the fundamental structural period. Thus, blast load response can be expressed strictly as a function of the momentum applied to the structure by a blast load. The optimal device arrangements are found to be those that reduce the first peak of the structural displacement and also reduce the subsequent free vibration of the structure. Semi-active devices that do not increase base shear demands on the foundations in combination with a passive yielding tendon are found to provide the most effective control, particularly if base shear demand is an important consideration, as with older structures. The overall results are summarised as response spectra for eventual potential use within standard structural design paradigms.

• Composites Research
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.89-93
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• 2015

This study analyzes the transplanting parts used as the graft of artificial knee joint. The low elastic titanium alloy is applied to clear up the stress shield effect. The simulation analysis is carried about the stress distribution of the transplanting parts. The correlation with frame is inferred and investigated through the equivalent stress distribution of titanium alloy due to elastic modulus. The stress of the transplanting parts decreases as the elastic modulus decreases at the first time. It decreases greatly near the stress of 46 GPa and increases again. Because the stress happened at the transplanting parts decreases, more stress is applied on the frame. This phenomenon is the stress shield effect. The result of this study can be thought to be necessary to develop the safe design of composite material.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.133-149
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• 2001

A high-fidelity model of a tracked vehicle traversing a flexible ground terrain with a varying profile is presented here. In this work, we employed a recursive formulation to model the track subsystem. This method yields a minimal set of coordinates and hence, computationally more efficient than conventional approaches. Also, in the vehicle subsystem, the undercarriage frame is assumed to be connected to the chassis by a revolute joint and a spring-damper unit. This increase in system mobility makes the model more realistic. To capture the vehicle-ground interaction, a Winkler-type foundation with springs-dampers is used. Simulation runs of the integrated tracked vehicle system for vibrations for four varying ground profiles are provided.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.5 no.2_3
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• pp.247-258
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• 2005

This paper outlines the current steel design climate and describes some recent and unusual designs using structural steel or composite steel and concrete which have been carried out in Hong Kong and the East Asia region. Composite structural systems for very tall buildings are outlined. A case study of concept designs for one of these is presented. Two further case studies are presented: a refurbishment project where the use of steel and innovative strengthening techniques allowed an additional five stories to be built on an existing reinforced concrete frame and a monumental sculpture.

• Journal of Plant Biology
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.167-173
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• 1994

Poly(A)+ RNA was selected from Canavalia lineata root nodule RNA through oligo(dT) cellulose column and used for construction of a cDNA library using λgt10-EcoRI arms. The size of the library was 7.2$\times$105 pfu/mL. A full length leghemoglobin (Lb) cDNA clone, pCILb1(687 bp) isolated with soybean Lb probe, contained one open reading frame (ORF) of 447 bp with 54 bp plus 186 bp at 5' and 3' untranslated region, respectively. A consensus sequence of plant translation start region (AAAATGGG) was found at 5' untranslated region, and two polyadenylation-related sequence (AATAAA, AATAAG) and a conserved motif between them (gACTTGTT) were found upstream of poly(A)+ tail consisted of 13 (A)s at 3' untranslated region. The ORF encoded a polypeptide consisted of 149 amino acids with a molecular weight of 16.2 kD. Deduced amino acid sequences showed high degree of homology values with those of other Lbs ranging from 66% (Casuarina glauca) to 85% (Glycine max).

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.279-295
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• 2011

This paper develops a probabilistic methodology for the seismic reliability analysis of structures with random properties. The earthquake loading is assumed to be described in terms of response spectra. The proposed methodology takes advantage of the response spectra and thus does not require explicit dynamic analysis of the actual structure. Uncertainties in the structural properties (e.g. member cross-sections, modulus of elasticity, member strengths, mass and damping) as well as in the seismic load (due to uncertainty associated with the earthquake load specification) are considered. The structural reliability is estimated by determining the failure probability or the reliability index associated with a performance function that defines safe and unsafe domains. The structural failure is estimated using a performance function that evaluates whether the maximum displacement has been exceeded. Numerical illustrations of reliability analysis of elastic and elastic-plastic single-story frame structures are presented first. The extension of the proposed method to elastic multi-degree-of-freedom uncertain structures is also studied and a solved example is provided.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.77-84
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• 2003

Virtual work in multibody systems is frequently expressed as the inner product of the virtual displacement and the resultant force at the centroid. But provided that the resultant force is converted into the equipollent forces there is no restriction on where the analysis reference point is placed. There are basically three candidate points : the centroid, joint point and the instant global origin. The traditional fully recursive formulation uses the centroid, but the present work verifies that the instant global origin always shows better efficiency (e.g. 86% CPU time of the centroid for quarter car model) and joint point shows the efficiency between that of the centroid and the instant global origin. A discussion on how important it is to define the analysis reference point properly in a fully recursive formulation is also presented.