Global IT and IT-enabled services

Several topics that were covered during the IEEE Symposium on Advanced Management of Information for Globalized Enterprises (AMIGE) held in September 2008, in Tianjin, China, are presented. The symposium focused on the globalized information management, a multidisciplinary covering such fields as computer science, industrial engineering, information systems, management science and engineering, and operations management. The research in global IT and IT-enabled services covers a wide spectrum of topics that include business processes and management in a global setting, such as global workflow technologies and applications, global information system integration and interaction, and global knowledge management. One of the topics focused on the importance of business process modeling technologies and security requirements in order to derive a trust federation from formally described business process models.published_or_final_versionSpringer Open Choice, 21 Feb 201

Nadph oxidase upregulated by AT1 receptor mediates chronic intermittent hypoxia-induced oxidative stress and inflammation in rat adrenal medulla

Poster PresentationOur previous study found that chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) associated with recurrent apnea induced oxidative stress and inflammation in rat adrenal medulla. However, the underline mechanism was not clear. We hypothesized that, under CIH, the up-regulation of NADPH oxidase mediated by renin-angiotensin system (RAS) via an activation of angiotensin II receptor 1 (AT1) might take part in the oxidative stress and local inflammation in the adrenal medulla. Adult male SD rats were exposed to air (normoxic) control or CIH treatment (8 hours/day) which mimicked a severe recurrent sleep apneic condition for 14 days. Oral feeding of Telmisartan (10 mg/kg), a specific AT1 receptor blocker, or an intraperitoneal injection of apocynin (25 mg/kg i.p.), an inhibitor of NADPH oxidase, or vehicle was performed before the daily hypoxic treatment. The adrenal medulla was harvested for the measurement of markers for oxidative stress (MDA and NTR), macrophages infiltration (ED1), apoptosis, and inflammation (pro-inflammatory mediators) using TUNEL assay, real-time PCR, ELISA and Western blot. Levels of MDA and NTR were significantly increased in the hypoxic (CIH) group when compared with the normoxic control, but were normalized in the hypoxic groups treated with apocynin (AIH) or telmisartan (TIH). The expression levels of macrophage marker ED1-immunoreactivity and the pro-inflammatory mediators (TNFa, IL6) were also elevated in the CIH group, but were significantly ameliorated by the apocynin or telmisartan treatment. In addition, the amount of apoptotic cells in the CIH group was significantly higher than that of the AIH and TIH groups. Moreover, the mRNA levels of NADPH oxidase subunits (Nox2, Nox4) were increased significantly in the CIH group when compared with that of the AIH and TIH groups. Also, the protein expression of RAS components (AGT, AT1) was also increased in the CIH group. In conclusion, we showed that an up-regulation of NADPH oxidase via AT1 receptor activation mediates CIH-induced oxidative stress and inflammation in rat adrenal medulla.published_or_final_versio

Intertrial Variability in the Premotor Cortex Accounts for Individual Differences in Peripersonal Space

We live in a dynamic environment, constantly confronted with approaching objects that we may either avoid or be forced to address. A multisensory and sensorimotor interface, the peripersonal space (PPS), mediates every physical interaction between our body and the environment. Behavioral investigations show high variability in the extension of PPS across individuals, but there is a lack of evidence on the neural underpinnings of these large individual differences. Here, we used approaching auditory stimuli and fMRI to capture the individual boundary of PPS and examine its neural underpinnings. Precisely, we tested the hypothesis that intertrial variability (ITV) in brain regions coding PPS predicts individual differences of its boundary at the behavioral level. Selectively in the premotor cortex, we found that ITV, rather than trial-averaged amplitude, of BOLD responses to far rather than near dynamic stimuli predicts the individual extension of PPS. Our results provide the first empirical support for the relevance of ITV of brain responses for individual differences in human behavior

Top Quarks as a Window to String Resonances

We study the discovery potential of string resonances decaying to $t\bar{t}$ final state at the LHC. We point out that top quark pair production is a promising and an advantageous channel for studying such resonances, due to their low Standard Model background and unique kinematics. We study the invariant mass distribution and angular dependence of the top pair production cross section via exchanges of string resonances. The mass ratios of these resonances and the unusual angular distribution may help identify their fundamental properties and distinguish them from other new physics. We find that string resonances for a string scale below 4 TeV can be detected via the $t\bar{t}$ channel, either from reconstructing the $t\bar{t}$ semi-leptonic decay or recent techniques in identifying highly boosted tops.Comment: 22 pages, 6 figure

On Semiclassical Limits of String States

We explore the relation between classical and quantum states in both open and closed (super)strings discussing the relevance of coherent states as a semiclassical approximation. For the closed string sector a gauge-fixing of the residual world-sheet rigid translation symmetry of the light-cone gauge is needed for the construction to be possible. The circular target-space loop example is worked out explicitly.Comment: 12 page

Extraction of proteins from yeast cell wall

The proteins from yeast cell wall were extracted by autolysis and depositing in turn. The results show that the change of pH value greatly affects the yield of the final product. The content of obtained crude proteins is maximal (more than 66%) when the autolysis time is 3 h, and pH value is 6 - 7. The extracted proteins can be of social and economic benefits

Modeling recursive RNA interference.

An important application of the RNA interference (RNAi) pathway is its use as a small RNA-based regulatory system commonly exploited to suppress expression of target genes to test their function in vivo. In several published experiments, RNAi has been used to inactivate components of the RNAi pathway itself, a procedure termed recursive RNAi in this report. The theoretical basis of recursive RNAi is unclear since the procedure could potentially be self-defeating, and in practice the effectiveness of recursive RNAi in published experiments is highly variable. A mathematical model for recursive RNAi was developed and used to investigate the range of conditions under which the procedure should be effective. The model predicts that the effectiveness of recursive RNAi is strongly dependent on the efficacy of RNAi at knocking down target gene expression. This efficacy is known to vary highly between different cell types, and comparison of the model predictions to published experimental data suggests that variation in RNAi efficacy may be the main cause of discrepancies between published recursive RNAi experiments in different organisms. The model suggests potential ways to optimize the effectiveness of recursive RNAi both for screening of RNAi components as well as for improved temporal control of gene expression in switch off-switch on experiments

Mouse models for preeclampsia: disruption of redox-regulated signaling

The concept that oxidative stress contributes to the development of human preeclampsia has never been tested in genetically-defined animal models. Homozygous deletion of catechol-Omethyl transferase (Comt-/-) in pregnant mice leads to human preeclampsia-like symptoms (high blood pressure, albuminurea and preterm birth) resulting from extensive vasculo-endothelial pathology, primarily at the utero-fetal interface where maternal cardiac output is dramatically increased during pregnancy. Comt converts estradiol to 2-methoxyestradiol 2 (2ME2) which counters angiogenesis by depleting hypoxia inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1 alpha) at late pregnancy. We propose that in wild type (Comt++) pregnant mice, 2ME2 destabilizes HIF-1 alpha by inhibiting mitochondrial superoxide dismutase (MnSOD). Thus, 2ME2 acts as a pro-oxidant, disrupting redox-regulated signaling which blocks angiogenesis in wild type (WT) animals in physiological pregnancy. Further, we suggest that a lack of this inhibition under normoxic conditions in mutant animals (Comt-/-) stabilises HIF-1 alpha by inactivating prolyl hydroxlases (PHD). We predict that a lack of inhibition of MnSOD, leading to persistent accumulation of HIF-1 alpha, would trigger inflammatory infiltration and endothelial damage in mutant animals. Critical tests of this hypothesis would be to recreate preeclampsia symptoms by inducing oxidative stress in WT animals or to ameliorate by treating mutant mice with Mn-SOD-catalase mimetics or activators of PHD