scholarly journals A guide to issues in microarray analysis: application to endometrial biology

Reproduction ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 130 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine A White ◽  
Lois A Salamonsen

Within the last decade, the development of DNA microarray technology has enabled the simultaneous measurement of thousands of gene transcripts in a biological sample. Conducting a microarray study is a multi-step process; starting with a well-defined biological question, moving through experimental design, target RNA preparation, microarray hybridisation, image acquisition and data analysis – finishing with a biological interpretation requiring further study. Advances continue to be made in microarray quality and methods of statistical analysis, improving the reliability and therefore appeal of microarray analysis for a wide range of biological questions. The purpose of this review is to provide both an introduction to microarray methodology, as well as a practical guide to the use of microarrays for gene expression analysis, using endometrial biology as an example of the applications of this technology. While recommendations are based on previous experience in our laboratory, this review also summarises the methods currently considered to be best practice in the field.

1999 ◽  
Vol 1999 (1) ◽  
pp. 619-627 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Lunel ◽  
Jenifer M. Baker

ABSTRACT Net Environmental Benefit Analysis (NEBA) is increasingly used as a framework to assess the environmental benefits and disadvantages of a chosen response action. This analysis can be used to account for political and economic impacts as well as the effects on the natural environment. Until recently the discussion has focused on qualitative assessments due to the lack of quantitative information collected at spills. This paper uses examples of best practice of NEBA from different spills around the world to outline the information that should be collected at future spills in order to determine the level of Net Environmental Benefit that has been achieved by the response operation. In the first instance immediate feedback may well provide information which aids decision making at the time of the incident. However, a key role for this information is also to enable responders around the world to establish best practice for a wide range of environmental sensitivities. Case histories of Net Environmental Benefits will provide a basis for the overall contingency planning process, recognising that post-spill decisions are best and most rapidly made in the light of pre-spill analyses, consultations and agreements by all the appropriate organisations.


Author(s):  
Ankit Mishra

Abstract For years now, spatial planners have played a vital role in managing and balancing the different interests of a wide range of stakeholders in a specific region. With the help of formal and informal instruments, the design of spatial plans is created, but sometimes there are either flaws or gaps in the plans by which the stakeholders would have benefitted. It is important to witness the changes being made in the pattern of planning and analyse the suggestions being made by the intellectual involved. In this article, existing scientific literature has been reviewed, as well as dynamic and comparative analysis and synthesis techniques have mainly been employed for the study. The aim of this article is to study the spatial planning practices in Europe and analyse the governance in spatial planning, which as a result shows different planning modes. With the help of literature, formulating the characteristics of informal planning is an eccentric part of this analysis to understand the direction of development in formal institutions. Test planning process is analysed using the ten characteristics of informal formal planning. From the best practice perspective, decision making in spatial planning must be decentralised, and the tools of spatial planning must be less binding, which has been broadly practiced in Switzerland. The outcome of the research will help avoid floccinaucinihilipilification in spatial planning.


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reshma Nagpal ◽  
Jitender Bhalla ◽  
Shamsher S. Bari

Background:A lot of advancement has been made in the area of β-lactams in recent times. Most of the research is targeted towards the synthesis of novel β-lactams, their functionalization and exploring their biological potential. The C-3 functionalization of β-lactams has continued to attract considerable interest of the scientific community due to their utility as versatile intermediates in organic synthesis and their therapeutic applications. This has led to the significant increase in efforts towards developing efficient and economic strategies for C-3 functionalized β-lactams.Objective:The present review aims to highlight recent advancement made in C-3 functionalization of β-lactams.Conclusion:To summarize, functionalization of β-lactams at C-3 is an essential aspect of β-lactam chemistry in order to improve/modify its synthetic utility as well as biological potential. The C-3 carbocation equivalent method has emerged as an important and convenient strategy for C-3 functionalization of β-lactam heterocycles which provides a wide range of β-lactams viz. 3-alkylated β-lactams, 3-aryl/heteroarylated β-lactams, 3- alkoxylated β-lactams. On the other hand, base mediated functionalization of β-lactams via carbanion intermediate is another useful approach but their scope is limited by the requirement of stringent reaction conditions. In addition to this, organometallic reagent mediated α-alkylation of 3-halo/3-keto-β-lactams also emerged as interesting methods for the synthesis of functionalized β-lactams having good yields and diastereoselectivities.


2004 ◽  
Vol 50 (11) ◽  
pp. 2019-2027 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott C Johnson ◽  
David J Marshall ◽  
Gerda Harms ◽  
Christie M Miller ◽  
Christopher B Sherrill ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: All states require some kind of testing for newborns, but the policies are far from standardized. In some states, newborn screening may include genetic tests for a wide range of targets, but the costs and complexities of the newer genetic tests inhibit expansion of newborn screening. We describe the development and technical evaluation of a multiplex platform that may foster increased newborn genetic screening. Methods: MultiCode® PLx involves three major steps: PCR, target-specific extension, and liquid chip decoding. Each step is performed in the same reaction vessel, and the test is completed in ∼3 h. For site-specific labeling and room-temperature decoding, we use an additional base pair constructed from isoguanosine and isocytidine. We used the method to test for mutations within the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene. The developed test was performed manually and by automated liquid handling. Initially, 225 samples with a range of genotypes were tested retrospectively with the method. A prospective study used samples from >400 newborns. Results: In the retrospective study, 99.1% of samples were correctly genotyped with no incorrect calls made. In the perspective study, 95% of the samples were correctly genotyped for all targets, and there were no incorrect calls. Conclusions: The unique genetic multiplexing platform was successfully able to test for 31 targets within the CFTR gene and provides accurate genotype assignments in a clinical setting.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (58) ◽  
pp. eabg0833
Author(s):  
Bingyu Yan ◽  
Tilo Freiwald ◽  
Daniel Chauss ◽  
Luopin Wang ◽  
Erin West ◽  
...  

Patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) present a wide range of acute clinical manifestations affecting the lungs, liver, kidneys and gut. Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) 2, the best-characterized entry receptor for the disease-causing virus SARS-CoV-2, is highly expressed in the aforementioned tissues. However, the pathways that underlie the disease are still poorly understood. Here, we unexpectedly found that the complement system was one of the intracellular pathways most highly induced by SARS-CoV-2 infection in lung epithelial cells. Infection of respiratory epithelial cells with SARS-CoV-2 generated activated complement component C3a and could be blocked by a cell-permeable inhibitor of complement factor B (CFBi), indicating the presence of an inducible cell-intrinsic C3 convertase in respiratory epithelial cells. Within cells of the bronchoalveolar lavage of patients, distinct signatures of complement activation in myeloid, lymphoid and epithelial cells tracked with disease severity. Genes induced by SARS-CoV-2 and the drugs that could normalize these genes both implicated the interferon-JAK1/2-STAT1 signaling system and NF-κB as the main drivers of their expression. Ruxolitinib, a JAK1/2 inhibitor, normalized interferon signature genes and all complement gene transcripts induced by SARS-CoV-2 in lung epithelial cell lines, but did not affect NF-κB-regulated genes. Ruxolitinib, alone or in combination with the antiviral remdesivir, inhibited C3a protein produced by infected cells. Together, we postulate that combination therapy with JAK inhibitors and drugs that normalize NF-κB-signaling could potentially have clinical application for severe COVID-19.


2014 ◽  
Vol 80 (3) ◽  
pp. 219-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Girish P. Joshi ◽  
David E. Beck ◽  
Roger Hill Emerson ◽  
Thomas M. Halaszynski ◽  
Jonathan S. Jahr ◽  
...  

Despite advances in pharmacologic options for the management of surgical pain, there appears to have been little or no overall improvement over the last two decades in the level of pain experienced by patients. The importance of adequate and effective surgical pain management, however, is clear, because inadequate pain control 1) has a wide range of undesirable physiologic and immunologic effects; 2) is associated with poor surgical outcomes; 3) has increased probability of readmission; and 4) adversely affects the overall cost of care as well as patient satisfaction. There is a clear unmet need for a national surgical pain management consensus task force to raise awareness and develop best practice guidelines for improving surgical pain management, patient safety, patient satisfaction, rapid postsurgical recovery, and health economic outcomes. To comprehensively address this need, the multidisciplinary Surgical Pain Congress™ has been established. The inaugural meeting of this Congress (March 8 to 10, 2013, Celebration, Florida) evaluated the current surgical pain management paradigm and identified key components of best practices.


2009 ◽  
Vol 2009 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rolf K. Eckhoff

Right from the early days of the process industries, continuous efforts have been made to develop and improve measures for prevention and mitigation of dust explosions in these industries. Nevertheless this hazard continues to threaten industries that manufacture, use and/or handle powders and dusts of a wide range of combustible materials. To improve methods for predicting explosion development in real industrial plant has been one major challenge. Hence, during the last years comprehensive numerical simulation codes, for addressing this problem, have been developed. Progress has also been made in other areas, for example, ignition source prevention. The importance of adopting inherently safer process design, by building on firm knowledge in powder science and technology, and of systematic education/training of personnel, is also emphasized.


2014 ◽  
Vol 657 ◽  
pp. 306-310
Author(s):  
Lăcrămioara Apetrei ◽  
Vasile Rață ◽  
Ruxandra Rață ◽  
Elena Raluca Bulai

Research evolution timely tendencies, in the nonconventional technologies field, are: manufacture conditions optimization and complex equipments design. The increasing of ultrasonic machining use, in various technologies is due to the expanding need of a wide range materials and high quality manufacture standards in many activity fields. This paper present a experimental study made in order to analyze the welded zone material structure and welding quality. The effects of aluminium ultrasonic welding parameters such as relative energy, machining time, amplitude and working force were compared through traction tests values and microstructural analysis. Microhardness tests were, also, made in five different points, two in the base material and three in the welded zone, on each welded aluminium sample. The aluminum welding experiments were made at the National Research and Development Institute for Welding and Material Testing (ISIM) Timişoara. The ultrasonic welding temperature is lower than the aluminium melting temperature, that's so our experiments reveal that the aluminium ultrasonic welding process doesn't determine the appearance of moulding structure. In the joint we have only crystalline grains deformation, phase transformation and aluminium diffusion.


2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 421-445 ◽  
Author(s):  
James R. Barth ◽  
Tong Li ◽  
Wen Shi ◽  
Pei Xu

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine recent developments pertaining to China’s shadow banking sector. Shadow banking has the potential not only to be a beneficial contributor to continued economic growth, but also to contribute to systematic instability if not properly monitored and regulated. An assessment is made in this paper as to whether shadow banking is beneficial or harmful to China’s economic growth. Design/methodology/approach – The authors start with providing an overview of shadow banking from a global perspective, with information on its recent growth and importance in selected countries. The authors then focus directly on China’s shadow banking sector, with information on the various entities and activities that comprise the sector. Specifically, the authors examine the interconnections between shadow banking and regular banking in China and the growth in shadow banking to overall economic growth, the growth in the money supply and the growth in commercial bank assets. Findings – Despite the wide range in the estimates, the trend in the size of shadow banking in China has been upward over the examined period. There are significant interconnections between the shadow banking sector and the commercial banking sector. Low deposit rate and high reserve requirement ratios have been the major factors driving its growth. Shadow banking has been a contributor, along with money growth, to economic growth. Practical implications – The authors argue that shadow banking may prove useful by diversifying China’s financial sector and providing greater investments and savings opportunities to consumers and businesses throughout the country, if the risks of shadow banking are adequately monitored and controlled. Originality/value – To the authors’ knowledge, this paper is among the few to systematically evaluate the influence of shadow banking on China’s economic growth.


Author(s):  
I. I. Vedyakov ◽  
D. V. Konin ◽  
A. A. Egorova ◽  
I. V. Rtishcheva

The present work provides an overview and analysis of scientific, technical, regulatory, and methodical Russian and foreign literature regarding using glass as a material for load-bearing structures of buildings. In the absence of design standards, an experimental study of usually one or two samples is necessary each time glass structure is used; however, this is insufficient to determine the distinct pattern of material performance. Since jointing the glass structures has been rarely studied, the number of tests is minimal, thus preventing establishing the unambiguous material operation and its calculated physical and mechanical characteristics. The article considers and evaluates the test results of glass structures obtained by various methods. The particular values of ultimate stresses and deformation modulus lie in a wide range. The technology, manufacturing process, and starting materials have a significant influence on the characteristics of glass, including multilayer glass. This article stresses the need for developing regulatory technical and methodical documents, the design and testing standards for glass structures and their jointing. It is necessary to classify load-bearing glass structures by various criteria.


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