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To better deliver antiretroviral drugs for treating patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) with poor immune reconstitution, a novel nanopole capsule was designed in this study. Forty-eight patients with AIDS with poor immune reconstitution were chosen as subjects to test their immune state. CD4+ T and Regulatory T cells (Treg) infected with HIV were cultured to test polyethyleneimine (PEI) and polychitosan (PC) drug delivery system efficiency. The infiltration efficiency test was performed to study the drug delivery efficiency of the delivery systems, and the cell numbers of CD4+ T and Treg cells infected with HIV were calculated to evaluate the therapeutic effect. The results showed that patients with AIDS with poor immune reconstitution had lower CD4+ T cell count and higher Treg cell count. Furthermore, the infiltration efficiency of the PC drug delivery system was higher than that of the PEI drug delivery system, and the therapy efficiency of antiretroviral drugs was greatly improved in the PC group. Additionally, the improvement of CD4+ T and Treg cells damaged by HIV was greater in the PC group. Sequentially, the PC system can better deliver and release loaded antiretroviral drugs and may be a better choice for treating patients with AIDS with poor immune reconstitution in the future.

An ideal flexible conductive material, bacterial cellulose-based antimony tin oxide-polypyrrole (BC-ATO-PPy), was fabricated in this study. The BC-ATO film was synthesized in situ along with the growth of the BC film, and then PPy was coated uniformly onto the as-prepared film. The structural characterization results showed that BC-ATO-PPy was successfully fabricated. The electrochemical properties of these as-synthesized composites (BC-ATO-PPy, BC-PPy, BC-ATO) were better than those of pure BC. A cyclic voltammetry (CV) test showed that the conductivities of BC-ATO, BC-PPy and BC-ATO-PPy were increased to 10.236 S/cm, 11.636 S/cm and 16.532 S/cm, respectively. The electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS) test showed that the resistance values of BC-ATO, BC-PPy and BC-ATO-PPy decreased to 83.6 Ω, 63.2 Ω and 32.4 Ω, respectively. Additionally, the specific capacitance also increased from 7.47 F/g for BC to 681.3 F/g for BC-ATO-PPy, 563.9 F/g for BC-ATO and 302.2 F/g for BC-PPy. The bending test showed that BC-ATO-PPy has stable CV curves and conductivity, suggesting that it is an excellent flexible conductive material. These results suggested that these as-synthesized nanomaterials, especially BC-ATO-PPy, are ideal flexible conductive materials.

We propose herein four types of anisotropic pentamode metamaterials (PMs) created by shifting the thin-end contention points along the space-diagonal, x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis directions. The phononic band structure and figure of merit (FOM) of the four types of anisotropic PMs are systematically investigated by using the finite-element method. Compared with isotropic PMs, the first phononic bandgaps appear in low-frequency regions, and the FOM increases by a factor of 6.9 when the thin-end connection area shifts along the z-axis direction. This study investigates how anisotropy affects PM properties and provides a reference to design acoustic cloaks, acoustic waveguides, and acoustic barriers.

The compressed sensing (CS) based imaging methods for tomography SAR perform well in the case of large number of baselines. Unfortunately, for the current tomography SAR, the baselines are obtained from many multi-pass acquisitions on the same scene, which is expensive and can be severely affected by temporal decorrelation. In order to reduce the number of baselines, a novel strategy for tomography SAR imaging by introducing the block-sparsity theory into the imaging processing is proposed in this paper. Using neighboring pixels information in reconstruction, the proposed method can overcome the imaging quality limitation imposed by the low number of baselines. The results with simulation data under the additive gaussian noise case are presented to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.

This article summarizes the uniformity law of spatial physics kinematic systems, and studies the chaos and bifurcation behavior of the uniform system in space. In particular, it also fully explains the relation among the uniform system, the coupled map lattice model which has attracted considerable interest currently, and one-dimensional nonlinear dynamical systems.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the frequency of CYP2B6 polymorphisms and their influence on plasma concentrations of efavirenz and nevirapine in HIV-infected Chinese patients. After written informed consent, 159 patients were enrolled at Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center. Genotyping for 516 GT, 785 AG, 983 TC, and 1459 TC polymorphisms in CYP2B6, together with CYP3A4 -392 AG, CYP3A5 6986 AG, and ABCB1 (2677 GT/A, 3435 CT), were performed. Plasma efavirenz and nevirapine concentrations of 120 patients at steady state were assessed by high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The minor allele frequency for CYP2B6 516 GT, 785 AG, 983 TC, and 1459 TC was 0.16, 0.24, 0, and 0, respectively; and 0.07, 0.32, 0.15, and 0.35 for CYP3A4 -392 AG, CYP3A5 6986 AG, ABCB1 2677 GT/A, and ABCB1 3435 CT, respectively. Univariate analysis indicated associations between 516 GT (P0.01) with efavirenz but not nevirapine plasma concentrations. None of other genetic variants was associated with plasma efavirenz or nevirapine concentrations. Although CYP2B6 516 GT was associated with high plasma efavirenz concentrations, such an association was not evident with nevirapine in this Chinese patient population. CYP3A4 -392 AG, CYP3A5 6986 AG, and ABCB1 (2677 GT/A, 3435 CT) had no significant impact on plasma efavirenz or nevirapine concentrations.

A scheme for pseudo-random binary sequence generation based on the spatial chaotic map is proposed. In order to face the challenge of using the proposed PRBS in cryptography, the proposed PRBS is subjected to statistical tests which are the well-known FIPS-140-1 in the area of cryptography, and correlation properties of the proposed sequences are investigated. The proposed PRBS successfully passes all these tests. Results of statistical testing of the sequences are found encouraging. The results of statistical tests suggest strong candidature for cryptographic applications.

In recent years, the chaos-based cryptographic algorithms have suggested some new and efficient ways to develop secure image encryption techniques, but the drawbacks of small key space and weak security in one-dimensional chaotic cryptosystems are obvious. In this paper, spatial chaos system are used for high degree security image encryption while its speed is acceptable. The proposed algorithm is described in detail. The basic idea is to encrypt the image in space with spatial chaos map pixel by pixel, and then the pixels are confused in multiple directions of space. Using this method one cycle, the image becomes indistinguishable in space due to inherent properties of spatial chaotic systems. Several experimental results, key sensitivity tests, key space analysis, and statistical analysis show that the approach for image cryptosystems provides an efficient and secure way for real time image encryption and transmission from the cryptographic viewpoint.

Interleukin-18 (IL-18) is a potent proinflammatory cytokine which is strongly associated with the development of diabetes in NOD mice. To test the putative involvement of IL-18 gene polymorphism in predisposition to human type 1 diabetes, the SNPs at position -607 (C/A) and -137 (G/C) in the promoter region of IL-18 gene were analyzed by sequence-specific PCR in 116 patients with type 1 diabetes and 114 normal controls. A linkage disequilibrium found only three of the four possible haplotypes defined by these SNPs. The distribution of the IL-18 gene genotypes at position -607 was significantly different between patients with type 1 diabetes and normal controls (P=0.023). Furthermore, there was a significant increase in haplotype 1 (-607C/-137G) in the patients compared with controls (P=0.006). The association study of the susceptible CTLA-4 genotype (GG at nucleotide position 49 in exon 1) or HLA-DR4-DQB1*0401 and type 1 diabetes showed that the predisposing IL-18 gene haplotype modulates the risk on CTLA-4 GG genotype, but not on HLA-DR4-DQB1*0401 haplotype. Among subjects carrying the CTLA-4 GG genotype, the frequency of IL-18 haplotype 1 in patients with type 1 diabetes was significantly higher than that in controls (91% vs. 71%, P=0.012). However, IL-18 haplotype 1 was not frequent in patients who do not exhibit the CTLA-4 high-risk genotype. These results suggest that the IL-18 gene polymorphism is associated with a type 1 diabetes susceptibility, and there might be a gene-gene interaction between IL-18 gene with susceptible CTLA-4 gene.

Insulin B chain peptide B:9-23 given to NOD mice decreases the development of diabetes, and phase II trials of an altered peptide ligand of B:9-23 are under way in humans. We have created a gene for the NOD MHC class II beta chain, covalently linked to the B:9-23 peptide. B lymphoma cells transfected with the gene stimulated NOD islet-derived B:9-23 reactive T cell clones in vitro. In this study, we generated an RGD-fiber-mutant adenovirus vector encoding the covalent B:9-23 peptide/I-A(g7) gene (Ad-RGD-B:9-23) to test whether in vivo expression of the gene could protect NOD mice from diabetes. NOD female mice were injected intramuscularly with 5 x 10(8) PFU of Ad-RGD-B:9-23 and empty RGD-adenovirus vector. A single administration of the empty vector did not alter the expression of insulin autoantibodies, but delayed the onset of diabetes in NOD mice. In contrast, Ad-RGD-B:9-23 immunization induced an early expression of insulin autoantibodies, but did not change the disease occurrence compared to control NOD mice. Our results suggest that adenovirus infection could confer protection from diabetes in NOD mice. The in vivo expression of covalent B:9-23 peptide/class II complex by adenovirus gene transfer might activate anti-insulin autoimmunity, resulting in abrogation of the inhibition of diabetes induced by an RGD-fiber-mutant adenovirus vector.

Stromal-cell derived factor-1 (SDF-1) is a powerful chemokine that upregulates T-cell migration and activation. The gene for SDF-1 is located near type 1 diabetes susceptibility locus IDDM10, suggesting a contribution by SDF-1 to the induction of diabetes. Recently the role of SDF-1 gene polymorphism in the clinical presentation of type 1 diabetes in French population has been reported. To test the putative involvement of SDF-1 gene polymorphism in predisposition to or clinical heterogeneity of type 1 diabetes in Japanese population, we conducted the case-control study. The SDF1-3'A variant (801 G to A in the 3'-untranslated region) was determined by the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism technique in 184 patients with abrupt-onset type 1 diabetes and 106 healthy control subjects. No significant difference in allele and genotype frequencies of SDF1-3'A variant was found between type 1 diabetic patients and healthy controls. However, the SDF1-3'A variant was strongly associated with early-onset diabetes in a recessive model (AA versus AG + GG, p = 0.017). The mean age-at-onset in patients carrying SDF1-3'AA genotype was significantly younger than that in patients with SDF1-3' AG or GG genotype (p = 0.028). The frequencies of SDF1-3' A variant were significantly increased in HLA-DR4/9 patients compared with non-DR4/9 patients (p = 0.008). These results suggest that the SDF-1 gene polymorphism is associated with the age-at-onset of type 1 diabetes in Japanese population.

Apoptosis commonly occurs in a variety of developmental processes in mammals. In this study, we investigated the relationship between apoptosis and the expression of both Bax and Bcl-2 during the early organogenesis period (9.5-11.5 days of gestation) of rat embryos. Apoptotic cells detected by the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated nick-end labeling (TUNEL) method were extremely abundant in the foregut diverticulum at 9.5 days of gestation, while they largely disappeared at 10.5 and 11.5 days of gestation, although they were detected in newly formed mid- and hindgut diverticulum at these times. Real-time RT-PCR analysis of whole embryos revealed that the expression of bax mRNA was constant at days 9.5 to 11.5, while the expression of bcl-2 mRNA gradually increased. Immunohistochemical studies of Bax and Bcl-2 expression revealed that these apoptotic cells were exactly positive to Bax in mirror sections, while their expression of Bcl-2 was generally too low to be detected. A disappearance of apoptotic cells was associated with strong Bcl-2 expression in the foregut diverticulum at 10.5 and 11.5 days of gestation. It was similarly observed that apoptotic cells detected in the cardiogenic area at 9.5 days of gestation disappeared with the formation of the primitive heart tube - accompanied by a strong expression of both Bcl-2 and Bax - in the developmental process of the primitive heart. Apoptotic cells were also observed in the primitive brain vesicle, optic vesicle, otic vesicle, and thyroid primordium at l0.5 and 11.5 days of gestation during the developmental process, with a strong expression of Bax. These results indicate that the Bax and Bcl-2 may be important in regulating the induction of embryonic cell apoptosis during early organogenesis.

In this study, a plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) process was used to form titanium-aluminium oxide coating on aluminized steel. The present work was mainly to study the effects of treatment time of PEO process on properties of the titanium coating. A potentiodynamic polarization corrosion test was employed to investigate the corrosion resistance of the coating. The friction coefficient and wear resistance of the coating were studied by using pin-on-disc test. The thermal transfer behaviours of uncoated and PEO-coated aluminized steels were also studied. It could be seen that treatment time of PEO process significantly influenced the properties of the titanium oxide coating. Samples with a longer treatment time had a better performance for corrosion and wear protection. This paper demonstrated different treatment time could alter the surface behaviour of the coating material.

In this paper, the stochastic stabilization problem for stochastic interval Hopfield neural networks with time-varying delays is investigated. Our attention is focused on the design of a robust state feedback controller such that the closed-loop system is robustly exponentially stable in the mean square. The sufficient conditions are proposed to ensure the existence of desired robust controller, which can be obtained by solving a linear matrix inequality (LMI). Finally, an example is given to illustrate the effectiveness of our theory results.

A phase-angle-control technique to control the speed of the motor under 220Vac and 120Vac mains is presented. In this circuit a triac is used to control the conduction angles of the motor so that the motor performs the consistent speed. The method is simple and cost-effective, without using the integration ICs. This method is proposed to use a new generation motors of hairdryer.

This paper presents a soft-start circuit using the pulse-width-modulation (PWM) method. The motor is controlled by the dc chopper associated with a low-cost PWM chip TL494. The design criteria are stated. The motor HC385MG is tested in experiment. The results illustrate that the circuit effectively reduces the inrush current at start-up moment. The circuit also provides the speed adjustment and can be further implemented with the speed regulation and the over-current protection.

Background The globally large-scale immunization was the most important method of controlling the 2009 pandemic influenza. Methods We conducted an observational clinical trial, including 148 adults aged 18–60 years to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of a licensed 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine. All subjects received a single 15-μg dose of a monovalent, unadjuvanted inactivated vaccine. Antibody titers were measured by means of hemagglutinin-inhibition assays and neutralization assays based on Real-Time Cell Analyzer (RTCA) instruments at baseline, 7 days and 21 days after vaccination. Results Local and systemic reactions were respectively reported by 19.1% and 22.1% of subjects. All adverse events were mild to moderate in intensity, without any deaths or serious events. By day 21 after vaccination, hemagglutinin-inhibition antibody titers of 1:40 or more were achieved in 101 of 123 (82.1%) subjects and the geometric mean titers (GMTs) increased to 1:95.27. For neutralization assays, all subjects could provide the protection against wide influenza virus, with the GMT of 1:525.44. Moreover, the rates of seroconversion, as measured using hemagglutinin-inhibition assays and neutralization assays, were 73.98% and 91.87% of subjects, respectively. Conclusions A single 15-μg dose of a monovalent, unadjuvanted inactivated 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine was well tolerated, and induced a protective immune response in the majority of subjects aged 18–60 years (clinical trials gov number, NCT01055990 ).

We evaluated the performance of T-SPOT.TB (a commercial interferon gamma release assay) and its accuracy for the diagnosis of active tuberculosis (TB) among HIV-infected subjects with advanced immunodeficiency. In a clinical prospective study, we assessed the performance of T-SPOT.TB for the diagnosis of active TB in HIV-infected patients with CD4 cell counts below 350 cells/mm(3) who were naive to antiretroviral and anti-TB therapies. Results were available from 147 patients, of whom 38 (25.9%) had active TB. The majority (85%) of the participants were male, with a median age of 40 years and a median CD4 cell count of 77 cells/mm(3). T-SPOT.TB yielded 15 (10.2%) indeterminate results. The indeterminate results were not associated with CD4 cell counts. However, younger patients were more likely to have an indeterminate result (OR = 0.91 per unit increase in age, p = 0.007). After excluding the indeterminate results, the sensitivity of T-SPOT.TB for the diagnosis of active TB was 37.1% and the specificity was 88.7%. The sensitivity of the T-SPOT.TB was independent of the CD4 cell count. However, its specificity was higher when used for patients with CD4 cell counts100 cells/mm(3) when compared to patients with CD4 cell counts ≥100 cells/mm(3) (97.9% vs. 79.6%, p = 0.008). T-SPOT.TB could not be used as a routine tool to screen for active TB among HIV-infected patients with advanced immunodeficiency because of its poor performance and low sensitivity. However, it may be used as an adjunctive tool to diagnose active TB in this population due to its high specificity.

In recent years, the chaos based cryptographic algorithms have suggested some new and efficient ways to develop secure image encryption techniques. In this paper, we propose a new approach for image encryption based on spatial chaotic map. The new scheme employs the spatial Cat map to shuffle the positions and uses another spatial chaotic map to confuse the relationship between the cipher-image and the plain-image. The results of experimental, statistical analysis and key space analysis show that the proposed image encryption scheme provides an efficient and secure way for realtime image encryption and transmission.

Encryption of images is different from that of texts due to some intrinsic features of images such as bulk data capacity and high redundancy, which is generally difficult to handle by traditional methods. This paper proposes a new spatial chaos system(SCS), which is investigated by conducting FIPS 140-1 statistic test, and is especially useful for encryption of digital images. It is shown how to adapt a two dimensional(2D) ergodic matrix obtained from SCS to permute the positions of image pixels and confuse the relationship between the cipher image and plain image simultaneously. Experimental results show that the performance and security of the proposed cryptographic system are better than those of existing lower dimensional chaotic cryptographic systems.

The regulatory factor X (RFX) family of transcription factors is characterized by a unique and highly conserved 76-amino acid residue DNA-binding domain. Mammals have five RFX genes, but the physiological functions of their products are unknown, with the exception of RFX5. Here a mouse RFX4 transcript was identified that encodes a peptide of 735 amino acids, including the DNA-binding domain. Its expression was localized in the suprachiasmatic nucleus, the central pacemaker site of the circadian clock. Also, light exposure was found to induce its gene expression in a subjective night-specific manner. Polyclonal antibodies were prepared, and an 80-kDa band was detected in the suprachiasmatic nucleus by Western hybridization. A histochemical study showed a localization of the products in the nucleus. This is the first report on mouse RFX4, which contains the RFX DNA-binding motif. Our investigation may provide clues to the physiological function of RFX4.

Type 1 diabetes is an organ-specific autoimmune disease characterized by T cell-mediated destruction of pancreatic beta cells. In Japanese population, the incidence of type 1 diabetes in children is very low compared to European countries. However, there are more patients with type 1 diabetes in adults, including latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA). The circulating autoantibodies to multiple islet autoantigens including GAD, insulin, and IA-2 are the important immunological features of type 1 diabetes. The prevalences of anti-islet autoantibodies in patients with Japanese type 1 diabetes are 60-70% for GAD autoantibodies, 45-50% for insulin autoantibodies (IAA), and 60-65% for IA-2 autoantibodies at disease onset, which are similar to those reported in Caucasian patients. With combinatorial analysis of these autoantibodies, 90% of patients express at least one of these autoantibodies and are classified as type 1A diabetes. Although the majority of patients with type 1 diabetes are young, lean, and ketosis-prone, there are a number of patients with type 1 diabetes initially diagnosed as having type 2 diabetes at disease onset called LADA. These patients with LADA often progress toward an insulin-deficient state within several years after diagnosis. High levels of GAD autoantibodies have a high predictive value for future insulin deficiency in LADA. Further, epitope analysis of GAD65 autoantibodies may be helpful to predict future insulin dependency in LADA patients. In conclusion, Japanese patients with type 1 diabetes are clinically heterogeneous and the determination of immunological features are helpful to clarify the characteristics of the Japanese type 1 diabetic syndrome.

Type 1 diabetes is a heterogeneous autoimmune disease and is frequently associated with other organ-specific autoimmune diseases, including autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD). Type 1 diabetic patients with AITD are known to show distinct clinical and immunological features from patients without AITD. This study investigated whether interleukin-10 (IL-10) gene promoter region polymorphisms are associated with susceptibility to type 1 diabetes and AITD. The frequency of −1082G/A, −819C/T, and −592C/A polymorphisms was analyzed in 54 type 1 diabetic patients with AITD, 74 type 1 diabetic patients without AITD, 124 nondiabetic patients with AITD, and 107 healthy subjects in a case-control study. No significant differences on the allele and genotype frequencies of three polymorphisms were found not only in type 1 diabetic patients with AITD compared with normal controls, but also between nondiabetic patients with AITD and healthy controls. The distribution of IL-10 gene haplotypes was also similar between both patient groups and normal controls. These results suggest that IL-10 gene promoter region polymorphisms are not associated with genetic susceptibility to type 1 diabetes and AITD.

It has been reported that diabetes-induced inappropriate apoptosis in embryos during neurulation may be one of the mechanisms leading to neural tube defects. We studied apoptosis and the apoptotic pathway occurring in early post-implantation period embryos of non-diabetic and streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. In quantitative RT-PCR, bax mRNA was constantly expressed to similar degree in embryos of non-diabetic and diabetic rats, while the expression of bcl-2 mRNA was significantly decreased in diabetic rat embryos compared to non-diabetic rat embryos. The increased number of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated nick end labeling (TUNEL)-positive cells occurred selectively in the primitive brains of diabetic rat embryos compared to non-diabetic rat embryos. Immunohistochemical studies revealed that, in mirror sections, the staining of Bax and activated caspase-3 were observed in the TUNEL-positive cell area, but the expression of Bcl-2 in these apoptotic cells was generally too low to be detected. These results suggest that a Bax-regulated mitochondrial cytochrome c-mediated caspase-3 activation pathway might be involved in the diabetic embryopathy.

This study investigated whether interleukin-10 (IL-10) gene promoter region polymorphisms are associated with susceptibility to or clinical presentation of type 1 diabetes. The frequency of -1082G/A, -819C/T, and -592C/A polymorphisms was analyzed in 128 Japanese patients with type 1 diabetes and in 107 healthy control subjects in a case-controlled study. The allelic and haplotypic frequencies of the IL-10 gene promoter region polymorphisms were similar in patients with type 1 diabetes and in control subjects. However, the -819T and -592A allele were associated with adult-onset (18 years) of the disease (p = 0.037). Furthermore, the frequency of ATA haplotype was increased in adult-onset patients than that in early-onset patients (or =18 years; p = 0.037). Among the genotypes comprising ATA haplotype, the frequency of ATA/ATA was significantly higher in adult-onset patients than in early-onset patients (p = 0.004). These results suggest that the IL-10 gene promoter polymorphisms are associated with the age-at-onset in Japanese patients with type 1 diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: The insulin-sensitizing action of troglitazone may be mediated through the activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPAR-gamma) and the promotion of preadipocyte differentiation in adipose tissue on which troglitazone has depot-specific effects. We investigated the relationship between efficacy of the drug and body fat distribution. Changes in body fat distribution were also investigated by long-term administration of the drug. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Troglitazone was given at a dose of 400 mg/day to 20 patients with type 2 diabetes whose diet and sulfonylurea therapy produced unsatisfactory glycemic control (HbA(1c) >7.8%) and whose insulin secretory capacity was found to be preserved (postprandial C-peptide >3 ng/ml). HbA(1c) values, serum lipid levels, and body weight were measured monthly Body fat distribution was evaluated in subcutaneous (SC) and visceral fat using a computed tomography scan at umbilical levels before and after troglitazone therapy RESULTS: During the 1-year troglitazone treatment, HbA(1c) was significantly decreased (from 9.2 +/- 0.2 to 7.1 +/- 0.2%, P < 0.01), showing lowest values at 4-6 months, whereas body weight was significantly increased (BMI 24.6 +/- 0.6 to 25.7 +/- 0.6 kg/m2, P < 0.01). Reduction of HbA(1c) (deltaHbA(1c)) from the baseline value during treatment was significantly greater in obese patients (BMI >26 kg/m2) than in nonobese patients (-3.2 +/- 0.4 vs. -2.1 +/- 0.3%, P < 0.05) and was more significant in women than in men (-3.2 +/- 0.2 vs. - 1.4 +/- 0.2%, P < 0.01). The level of deltaHbA(1c) during treatment showed a significant negative correlation with SC fat area (r = -0.742, P < 0.01) but not with visceral fat area. Weight gain during troglitazone treatment resulted in increased accumulation of SC fat without a change in visceral fat area and, consequently. in a significant decrease in the visceral-to-SC fat ratio. CONCLUSIONS: Predominant accumulation of SC fat for the visceral fat tissue was an important predictor of the efficacy of troglitazone therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes. Greater efficacy of troglitazone was observed in women who were characterized by more accumulation of SC adipose tissue than men. Long-term administration of the drug resulted in weight gain with increased accumulation of SC adipose tissue, probably because of the activation of PPAR-gamma in the region.

In this paper, we consider the problem of selecting the most effective set of reporter genes for analysis of biological networks using cell microarrays. We propose two graph theoretic formulations of the reporter gene allocation problem, and show that both problems are hard to approximate. We propose integer programming-based methods for solving practical instances of these problems optimally. We apply them to apoptosis pathway maps, and discuss the biological significance of the result. We also apply them to artificial networks, the result of which shows that optimal solutions can be obtained within several seconds for networks with 10,000 nodes.