Evaluating extreme rainfall changes over Taiwan using a standardized index

The annual daily maximum precipitation (rx1day) is widely used to represent extreme events and is an important parameter in climate change studies. However, the climate variability in rx1day is sensitive to outliers and has difficulty representing the characteristics of large areas. We propose to use the probability index (PI), based on the cumulative density function (CDF) of a generalized extreme value (GEV) distribution to fit and standardize the rx1day to represent extreme event records in this study. A good correlation between the area-averaged PIs of the observed stations and those of the gridded dataset can be found over Taiwan. From the past PI records, there is no distinct trend in western Taiwan before the end of the 20th century, but a climate regime change happened during 2002 - 2003. The dual change effects from both the variance and linear trend of extreme events are identified over the northeastern and southern parts of Taiwan, along with the island's central and southern regions, showing different abrupt changing trends and intensity. The PI can also be calculated using climate projection data to represent the characteristics of future extreme changes. The climate variability of PIs on the present (ALL) and future (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) scenarios were evaluated using the 16 Couple Model Intercomparison Projects Phase-5 models (CMIP5). The simulated present fluctuations in PIs are smaller than those of actual observations. In the 21st century, the RCP8.5 scenario shows that the PI significantly increases by 10% during the first half of the century, and 14% by the end of the century.1112Ysciescopu

Acupuncture transmitted infections.

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Macrophage migration inhibitory factor stimulated by Helicobacter pylori increases proliferation of gastric epithelial cells

Aim: Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) is associated with increased gastric inflammatory and epithelial expression of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) and gastric epithelial cell proliferation. This study aimed at determining whether H pylori directly stimulates release of MIF in monocytes, whether the cag pathogenicity island (PAI) is involved for this function, and whether MIF stimulated by H pylori increases gastric epithelial cell proliferation in vitro. Methods: A cytotoxic wild-type H pylori strain (TN2), its three isogenic mutants (TN2Δcag, TN2ΔcagA and TN2ΔcagE) were co-cultured with cells of a human monocyte cell line, THP-1, for 24 h at different organism/cell ratios. MIF in the supernatants was measured by an ELISA. Cells of a human gastric cancer cell line, MKN45, were then co-cultured with the supernatants, with and without monoclonal anti-MIF antibody for 24 h. The cells were further incubated for 12 h after addition of 3H-thymidine, and the levels of incorporation of 3H-thymidine were measured with a liquid scintillation counter. Results: The wild-type strain and the isogenic mutants, TN2ΔcagA and TN2ΔcagE, increased MIF release at organism/cell ratios of 200 /1 and 400/1, but not at the ratios of 50/1 and 100/1. However, the mutant TN2Δcag did not increase the release of MIF at any of the four ratios. 3H-thymidine readings for MKN-45 cells were significantly increased with supernatants derived from the wild-type strain and the mutants TN2ΔcagA and TN2ΔcagE, but not from the mutant TN2Δcag. Moreover, in the presence of monoclonal anti-MIF antibody, the stimulatory effects of the wild-type strain on cell proliferation disappeared. Conclusion: H pylori stimulates MIF release in monocytes, likely through its cag PAI, but not related to cagA or cagE. H pylori-stimulated monocyte culture supernatant increases gastric cell proliferation, which is blocked by anti-MIF antibody, suggesting that MIF plays an important role in H pylori-induced gastric epithelial cell proliferation. © 2005 The WJG Press and Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.published_or_final_versio

Characterizing the malignancy and drug resistance of cancer cells from their membrane resealing response

In this report, we showed that two tumor cell characteristics, namely the malignancy and drug-resistance status can be evaluated by their membrane resealing response. Specifically, membrane pores in a number of pairs of cancer and normal cell lines originated from nasopharynx, lung and intestine were introduced by nano-mechanical puncturing. Interestingly, such nanometer-sized holes in tumor cells can reseal ∼ 2-3 times faster than those in the corresponding normal cells. Furthermore, the membrane resealing time in cancer cell lines exhibiting resistance to several leading chemotherapeutic drugs was also found to be substantially shorter than that in their drug-sensitive counterparts, demonstrating the potential of using this quantity as a novel marker for future cancer diagnosis and drug resistance detection. Finally, a simple model was proposed to explain the observed resealing dynamics of cells which suggested that the distinct response exhibited by normal, tumor and drug resistant cells is likely due to the different tension levels in their lipid membranes, a conclusion that is also supported by direct cortical tension measurement.published_or_final_versio

Minimal clinically important difference of the EORTC QLQ-CIPN20 for worsening peripheral neuropathy in patients receiving neurotoxic chemotherapy.

Context/objectivesThis is the first study to determine the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) of the European Organisation of Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-CIPN twenty-item scale (EORTC QLQ-CIPN20), a validated instrument designed to elicit cancer patients' experience of symptoms and functional limitations related to chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy.MethodsCancer patients receiving neurotoxic chemotherapy completed EORTC QLQ-CIPN20 and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy/Gynecologic Oncology Group-Neurotoxicity [FACT/GOG-NTX] at baseline, second cycle of chemotherapy (T2, n = 287), and 12 months after chemotherapy (T3, n = 191). Anchor-based approach used the validated FACT/GOG-NTX neurotoxicity (Ntx) subscale to identify optimal MCID cutoff for deterioration. Distribution-based approach used one-third standard deviation (SD), half SD, and one standard error of measurement of the total EORTC QLQ-CIPN20 score.ResultsThere was a moderate correlation between the change scores of the Ntx subscale and sensory and motor subscales of QLQ-CIPN20 (T2: r = - 0.722, p < 0.001 and r = - 0.518, p < 0.001, respectively; T3: r = - 0.699; p < 0.001 and r = - 0.523, p < 0.001, respectively). The correlation between the change scores of the Ntx subscale and the QLQ-CIPN20 autonomic subscale was poor (T2: r = - 0.354, p < 0.001; T3: r = 0.286, p < 0.001). Based on the MCID derived using distribution-based method, the MCID for the QLQ-CIPN20 sensory subscale was 2.5-5.9 (6.9% to 16.4% of the subdomain score) and for motor subscale was 2.6-5.0 (8.1%-15.6% of the subdomain score).ConclusionThe MCID for the EORTC QLQ-CIPN20 established using distribution-based approaches was 2.5-5.9 for the sensory subscale and 2.6-5.0 for the motor subscale. When noted in assessments even with small change in scores, clinicians can be alerted for appropriate intervention

Overexpression of protein kinase C-beta 1 isoenzyme suppresses SC-236-induced apoptosis in gastric epithelial cells

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Increased serum levels and epithelial expression of macrophage migration inhibitory factor in gastric cancer

This journal suppl. contain abstracts of the 8th Medical Research Conference, Medical Science Group, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kongpublished_or_final_versio

Location prediction based on a sector snapshot for location-based services

In location-based services (LBSs), the service is provided based on the users' locations through location determination and mobility realization. Most of the current location prediction research is focused on generalized location models, where the geographic extent is divided into regular-shaped cells. These models are not suitable for certain LBSs where the objectives are to compute and present on-road services. Such techniques are the new Markov-based mobility prediction (NMMP) and prediction location model (PLM) that deal with inner cell structure and different levels of prediction, respectively. The NMMP and PLM techniques suffer from complex computation, accuracy rate regression, and insufficient accuracy. In this paper, a novel cell splitting algorithm is proposed. Also, a new prediction technique is introduced. The cell splitting is universal so it can be applied to all types of cells. Meanwhile, this algorithm is implemented to the Micro cell in parallel with the new prediction technique. The prediction technique, compared with two classic prediction techniques and the experimental results, show the effectiveness and robustness of the new splitting algorithm and prediction technique

Skyrmion fluctuations at a first-order phase transition boundary

Magnetic skyrmions are topologically protected spin textures with promising prospects for applications in data storage. They can form a lattice state due to competing magnetic interactions and are commonly found in a small region of the temperature - magnetic field phase diagram. Recent work has demonstrated that these magnetic quasi-particles fluctuate at the μeV energy scale. Here, we use a coherent x-ray correlation method at an x-ray free-electron laser to investigate these fluctuations in a magnetic phase coexistence region near a first-order transition boundary where fluctuations are not expected to play a major role. Surprisingly, we find that the relaxation of the intermediate scattering function at this transition differs significantly compared to that deep in the skyrmion lattice phase. The observation of a compressed exponential behavior suggests solid-like dynamics, often associated with jamming. We assign this behavior to disorder and the phase coexistence observed in a narrow field-window near the transition, which can cause fluctuations that lead to glassy behavior