Science foresight using life-cycle analysis, text mining and clustering: A case study on natural ventilation.

Science foresight comprises a range of methods to analyze past, present and expected research trends, and uses this information to predict the future status of different fields of science and technology. With the ability to identify high-potential development directions, science foresight can be a useful tool to support the management and planning of future research activities. Science foresight analysts can choose from a rather large variety of approaches. There is, however, relatively little information about how the various approaches can be applied in an effective way. This paper describes a three-step methodological framework for science foresight on the basis of published research papers, consisting of (i) life-cycle analysis, (ii) text mining and (iii) knowledge gap identification by means of automated clustering. The three steps are connected using the research methodology of the research papers, as identified by text mining. The potential of combining these three steps in one framework is illustrated by analyzing scientific literature on wind catchers; a natural ventilation concept which has received considerable attention from academia, but with quite low application in practice. The knowledge gaps that are identified show that the automated foresight analysis is indeed able to find uncharted research areas. Results from a sensitivity analysis further show the importance of using full-texts for text mining instead of only title, keywords and abstract. The paper concludes with a reflection on the methodological framework, and gives directions for its intended use in future studies.

Chitosan-based Nanoparticles in Mucosal Vaccine Delivery.

Most infectious diseases are caused by pathogenic infiltrations from the mucosal tract. Nowadays, the use of vaccines has been widely investigated for the prevention of different infectious diseases, infertility, immune disorders, malignancies, and allergies. Broad-spectrum adjuvant substances have been studied for immune system stimulation with a greater efficiency against specific antigens. Various adjuvants have been developed such as inorganic, oil-based, and emulsion adjuvants, bacterial products and their derivatives, cytokines, cytosine-guanine dinucleotide (CpG) motifs, and particulate systems. Mucosal vaccine delivery is an alternative route to induce both humoral and cellular immune responses. Applying nanoparticles in vaccine formulations allows not only improved antigen stability and immunogenicity, but also targeted delivery, and consequently, more specific release of the agent of interest. Chitosan nanoparticles have immunological activity and mucoadhesive properties. They have been used as a mucosal vaccine delivery system for many antigens. This review provides an overview of the recent advances in chitosan nanoparticles as a novel mucosal vaccine delivery system.

uPAR peptide antagonist alters regulation of MAP kinases and Bcl-2 family members in favor of apoptosis in MDA-MB-231 cell line.

Urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) and its ligands play a major role in many tumors by mediating extracellular matrix degradation and signaling cascades leading to tumor growth, invasion and metastasis. Recently we introduced uPAR decapeptide antagonist with cytotoxic effect on MDA-MB-231 cell line. In this study we assessed the alteration in uPAR downstream signaling following treatment with the peptide antagonist. In this regard, extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and p38 from mitogen-activated protein kinase family and Bcl-2, Bim and Bax from Bcl-2 protein family were investigated. Our data revealed that the peptide caused p38 activation and low ERK activation. On the other hand, the peptide induced down-regulation of Bcl-2 and up-regulation of Bim without Bax modulation. Changes in target protein expression/activation explain the apoptotic property of the peptide and highlight its potential to be used as a therapeutic agent in cancerous cells expressing high levels of uPAR.

Effects of enhanced external counterpulsation on anginal symptoms and improvements in objective measures of myocardial ischaemia.

BACKGROUND: Enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) is a novel, potentially beneficial adjunct therapy used for angina pectoris. We assessed the efficacy of this method in relieving angina and improving objective measures of myocardial ischaemia. METHODS: All patients (67) who referred for EECP to Shahid Chamran Hospital, Isfahan, Iran from 2002 to 2005 were included. Demographic data, coronary artery disease (CAD) risk factors and baseline angiographic data were collected. Anginal symptoms, Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS) functional class, echocardiographic parameters (ejection fraction, left ventricular end-diastolic and end-systolic diameters) and exercise test duration before and after the treatment were compared. RESULTS: Seventy-seven per cent of patients who had undergone EECP had a positive clinical response. Exercise test duration and CCS functional class improved after the treatment. However, EECP had no significant effect on echocardiographic parameters. Efficacy was independent of age, gender, CAD risk factors, prior CCS functional class and echocardiographic parameters. Patients without left main artery involvement and those who had at least one non-obstructed artery demonstrated a greater likelihood of improvement. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggested that EECP is a safe, well tolerated, and significantly effective treatment for angina pectoris.

Effect of heterozygous beta-thalassaemia trait on coronary atherosclerosis via coronary artery disease risk factors: a preliminary study.

BACKGROUND: Thalassaemia is considered the most common genetic disorder worldwide. An association between the heterozygous beta-thalassaemia trait and myocardial infarction has previously been observed. However, the relationship between heterozygous beta-thalassaemia and atherosclerosis, considering other coronary artery disease (CAD) risk factors, has remained unclear. METHODS: A case-control study was conducted to evaluate the hypothesis that thalassaemia minor affects the likelihood of atherosclerotic plaque formation. Blood counts and blood chemistry data as well as traditional risk factors from 1,363 patients referred to heart centres for coronary angiography were recorded. Heterozygous beta-thalassaemia was diagnosed by the presence of hypochoromic-microcytic anaemia, ferritin levels > 12 ng/ml and haemoglobin-A2 levels > 3.5. RESULTS: Chi-squared analysis showed that the prevalence of heterozygous beta-thalassaemia was not significantly different between patients with and without CAD (p > 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis using CAD as the dependent variable and traditional risk factors, haematocrit, ferritin levels and heterozygous beta-thalassaemia as independent variables, did not show any significant difference either. Independent two-tailed student's t-tests showed that haematocrit levels were statistically different (p = 0.000) between CAD(+) and CAD(-) groups, but low-density lipids (LDL), high-density lipids (HDL), triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol and serum ferritin levels were not statistically different (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of heterozygous beta-thalassaemia in the case group was not significantly different from the control group. This case-control study did not support the hypothesis that thalassaemia minor affects the likelihood of atherosclerotic plaque formation.