Previous studies have shown a lack of cutaneous squamous

Previous studies have shown a lack of cutaneous squamous 17-DMAG FDA cell carcinoma immune-histochemical staining by Ber-EP4 (11�C15). Our study found that 8/9 (89%) cases of squamous cell carcinoma did not stain for the epithelial antigen Ber-EP4. However, one case demonstrated focally positive basal layer staining. Epithelial specific antigen clone VU-1D9 did not stain 7/9 cases (78%), but stained one case focally positive and one case diffusely positive. Other authors have reported negative staining of squamous cell carcinoma in situ with epithelial antigen clone Ber-Ep4. Tope et al showed 8/8 cases of squamous intraepithelial neoplasia to be negative for Ber-EP4 staining; this was recapitulated by Ansai et al in 10/10 cases.

16,17 Consistent with these reports, the present study found that 7/7 cases of Bowen��s disease did not stain immune-histochemically for epithelial antigen clone Ber-EP4. However, 3/7 cases stained for epithelial specific antigen clone VU-1D9, with focal positive staining in the lower half of the epidermis. Thus, this anti EpCAM antibody, derived from a small cell lung carcinoma cell line (HG9) may be less specific for basal cell carcinoma. This focal positive staining pattern using antibodies to Epithelial specific antigen (VU-1D9) may represent a potential diagnostic pitfall. Consistent with our findings, previous investigators have described positive epithelial antigen immune-histochemical staining of basal cell carcinomas in all (100%) samples studied.

11�C14,16,18�C22 Most recently, Ansai et al reported two studies with slightly lower Ber-EP4 positivity seen in basal cell carcinoma, the first with 8/10 (80%) positive, and the second with 30/31 (97%) positive.15,17 All trichoepitheliomas stained diffusely positive for both epithelial antigens studied. This finding is consistent with previous reports of Ber-EP4 positivity in follicular neoplasms such as trichoepithelioma.12,13,17�C19,22 and trichoblastoma.17,23 Thus, these lesions are not reliably differentiated using the monoclonal antibodies studied and their diagnosis relies heavily on microscopic features. Our study also confirmed the previously reported staining of merkel cell carcinomas.12 Our study confirmed findings by Ansai et al,17 which showed no immune-histochemical staining of these epithelial antigens within seborrheic keratoses.

Actinic keratoses included in our study failed to stain for EpCAM with both antibodies studied, which is consistent with previous reports.16,17 Our study found that immune-histochemical staining for monoclonal antibodies to Epithelial Antigen clone Ber-EP4 may be more specific for basal cell carcinoma than that of Epithelial-specific antigen clone VU-1D9. Out of 112 cases, Drug_discovery the former stained 100% of basal cell carcinomas, merkel cell carcinomas, and trichoepitheliomas, and did not stain 97% (74/76) of other skin lesions.

The funders had no role in study design, data collection and anal

The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
The natural history of hepatitis B virus (HBV) carriers who acquire always find useful information the virus in early life can be divided into 4 dynamic phases based on virus-host interactions, including: immune tolerance, immune clearance, inactive carrier state and reactivation phase. [1], [2] After hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) seroconversion, patients usually enter the inactive state, with low viral load and normal alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level. However, a certain proportion of inactive carriers may experience HBV reactivation, which accelerates the disease progression to end-stage liver disease, including cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

[3] Therefore, patients in the HBeAg-negative phase should still receive regular monitoring of the hepatitis activity. The introduction of HBsAg quantification has provided a new diagnostic tool in the management of chronic hepatitis B (CHB), such as the prediction of disease activity, HBsAg loss, and development of HCC in the natural history,[4]�C[9] as well as the responses to treatment.[10]�C[12] Several cross-sectional studies have shown the dynamic change of HBsAg levels during the natural course of HBV infection: higher in the immune tolerance and clearance phase, lower in the inactive phase and increases again in the reactivation phase.[13]�C[16] In an European study with 3 years of longitudinal follow-up of 209 genotype D HBeAg-negative patients, HBsAg levels correlated with disease activity and helped to predict the inactive carrier state.

[8] In another longitudinal study on 68 genotype B or C HBeAg-negative patients, HBsAg levels tended to be higher in the active carriers. [14] These lines of evidence suggest that, HBsAg quantification can be utilized for monitoring in patients with chronic hepatitis B infection because of its dynamic change and complementary role to HBV-DNA. However, most of the previous studies looking at the clinical significance of HBsAg level were of cross-sectional design with a limited follow-up duration or case numbers. The definition of disease activities mostly relied on the short-term observation of HBV-DNA; however, the HBV-DNA tended to fluctuate overtime. Therefore, larger studies with longer observation period are still needed for validation, especially in Asian countries where most chronic HBV infections are acquired early in life.

To that end, we conducted a study to investigate the longitudinal HBsAg change in HBeAg-negative patients with genotype B or C infection, and to explore the role of baseline HBsAg level in predicting disease progression in this special clinical setting. Materials and Methods Patient Cohort A total of 187 HBeAg-negative Batimastat carriers were recruited from the Gastroenterology Clinics in National Taiwan University Hospital between 1993 and 2006.

Patients were asked to complete a QOL form at baseline

Patients were asked to complete a QOL form at baseline http://www.selleckchem.com/products/Calcitriol-(Rocaltrol).html and weekly for the first 7 weeks, and subsequently before each administration of Gem for 24 weeks from random assignment. The forms were completed at the hospital and, with the exception of the baseline, before diagnostic procedures. For this analysis, we used the following global linear-analogue self-assessment (LASA) indicators sensitive to the wide spectrum of reactions seen in patients on chemotherapy: Physical well-being (Butow et al, 1991), mood (Butow et al, 1991; Hurny et al, 1996), coping effort (Butow et al, 1991; Hurny et al, 1993), and functional performance (Bernhard et al, 1999). The indicators for physical well-being, mood, coping effort, and functional performance were sensitive to tumour response in metastatic colorectal cancer (Borner et al, 2005).

The issue of high psychological distress in pancreatic cancer (Zabora et al, 2001) was covered by the mood and coping indicators, which are sensitive to mood disorders and psychosocial dysfunction (Bernhard et al, 2001). Specific LASA indicators were used for pain (Fishman et al, 1987) and tiredness (Bernhard et al, 1999). The restriction to a few key indicators instead of a standard assessment was based on feasibility considerations for the intensive longitudinal assessment schedule (Bernhard et al, 2008). Statistical analysis Quality of life forms filled in >3 days before or after day 1 of a cycle were excluded. We report means of untransformed data (scale range: 0�C100; higher scores: better condition).

A mean change of 8 points from baseline was defined as clinically meaningful (Sloan and Dueck, 2004). Associations among the stratification factors, baseline CA 19-9 and QOL scores (grouped by medians), and tumour response (Therasse et al, 2000) were investigated by ��2-tests, associations among the continuous QOL scores by Spearman correlations. We used R0.7 as criterion for multi-collinearity (Van Steen et al, 2002). A Cox model for overall survival was calculated with stratification factors, treatment arm, and baseline CA 19-9 as predictors. Then the QOL indicators were added individually to the model, first with continuous and second with grouped scores (cut-off points: 33 and 67% quantile of total sample, intermediate group as reference). The findings of the grouped scores were more consistent due to nonlinear effects, and are presented here.

A second Cox model was calculated for all QOL indicators without clinical factors and a third model with clinical factors and QOL indicators. Associations between QOL changes and maximum Cilengitide CA 19-9 decrease (both to baseline) were explored by Spearman correlations. The prognostic value of CA 19-9 baseline concentration and CA 19-9 maximal decrease for QOL during chemotherapy was investigated by a linear mixed-effects model for each indicator taking into account time effects on QOL, split by monthly treatment duration (Bernhard et al, 2008).

When crossed to CD11b-Cre mice, expressing Cre recombinase under

When crossed to CD11b-Cre mice, expressing Cre recombinase under the control of the myeloid specific CD11b promoter, Cre-mediated excision of the lacZ gene/stop cassette induced permanent GFP expression exclusively in cells having passed www.selleckchem.com/products/Belinostat.html through a CD11b-positive, myeloid stage [31]. Pancreatic sections of transplanted RT2;VC were stained for the lymphatic markers Podoplanin or LYVE-1 and for GFP, and double-positive cells were scored. In both transplantation settings, GFP+ cells were found integrated into the tumor lymphatic vasculature, demonstrating that cells of the myeloid lineage physically contributed to tumor lymphangiogenesis (Figure 4B, upper panels). We also tested whether CD11b+ cells integrated into tumor lymphatics without prior bone marrow transplantation by transplanting TRAMP-C1 cells into CD11b-Cre;Z/EG mice (Figure 1B).

Specific Cre-mediated recombination within the myeloid lineage of these mice was confirmed by FACS analysis of PB cells (Figure S3B). In the resulting tumors, GFP+ cells were found incorporated into LYVE-1+ and Podoplanin+ lymphatic vessel lining (data not shown). Triple-staining for LYVE-1, Prox-1 and GFP further showed that formerly myeloid cells expressed two lymphatic markers simultaneously (Figure 4C, arrowhead), indicating a significant differentiation towards a lymphatic endothelial phenotype. These results also revealed that integration occurred independently of prior irradiation, which had been previously reported to increase macrophage infiltration in human cancer [32]. In a second series of lineage-tracing experiments, FACS-sorted CD11b+/GFP+ cells were i.

v. injected into semi-lethally or non-irradiated RT2;VC mice (Figure 1A and C). 3 weeks after injection, adoptively transferred GFP+ cells were observed integrated into tumor lymphatics, identified by LYVE-1 or Prox-1 expression (Figure 4B, lower panels). The fact that the adoptive transfer of CD11b+/GFP+ cells into non-irradiated RT2;VC mice resulted into an integration of the injected cells into tumor lymphatics indicates that a full reconstitution of the hematopoietic system by stem cells is not a prerequisite for BMDC contribution to tumor lymphangiogenesis. To assess whether common myeloid progenitor cells (CMP) [33] provide the cells that incorporate into tumor lymphatics, FACS-sorted CMP cells (lin?/Sca-1?/IL7R��?/cKit+/GFP+; Figure 1E) were adoptively transferred into semi-lethally irradiated RT2;VC mice.

FACS analysis of PB cells 3 weeks post-injection revealed that transplanted CMP contributed to the generation of CD11b+/F4/80+ monocytes and CD11b+/F4/80? granulocytes but not to CD19+ B lymphocytes or CD3+ T lymphocytes (Figure S3C). Also here, GFP+ cells were found integrated into tumor-associated lymphatic endothelium, detected Anacetrapib by LYVE-1 or Podoplanin expression (Figure S4).

After incubation for 30 min on ice, insoluble debris was removed

After incubation for 30 min on ice, insoluble debris was removed by centrifugation for 15 min at 4��C. Total protein was resolved by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and transferred to nitrocellulose membranes (GE Healthcare, Pittsburgh, PA, USA). The membranes www.selleckchem.com/products/baricitinib-ly3009104.html were then probed with antibodies against ��-tubulin (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Fremont, CA, USA), STAT3 (Cell Signaling Technology), or STAT3PY705 and visualized using SuperSignal West Femto Chemiluminescent Substrate (Thermo Fisher Scientific). Quantitative and Conventional Reverse-Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction Assays Total RNA was isolated from colon tissues and cDNA was synthesized using a QuantiTech Reverse Transcription Kit (QIAGEN, Valencia, CA, USA), then mixed with QuantiFast SYBR Green polymerase chain reaction (PCR) master mix (QIAGEN) and specific primers.

Quantitative reverse-transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) was performed with an Applied Biosystems 7300 Real-Time PCR System (Life Technologies, Carlsbad, CA, USA) and analyzed by comparative Ct quantification [63]. The conventional PCR products were generated by AccuPower PCR Premix (Bioneer). The specific primers for genes used in this study were obtained from QIAGEN. Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) Cell culture supernatants were analyzed for S100A9 levels using an S100A9 ELISA kit (Cyclex Co., Ltd, Nagano, Japan) according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Chromatin Immunoprecipitation Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays were performed using a Chromatin Immunoprecipitation Assay Kit (Millipore, Billerica, MA, USA) according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Briefly, Caco-2 cells were fixed with formaldehyde for 10 min at room temperature. After sonication (30 s on/1 min off for three cycles), the fragmented soluble chromatin was immunoprecipitated with anti-STAT3PY705 IgG or rabbit IgG. Cross-links were reversed by incubating at 65��C. Precipitated DNA was amplified by conventional PCR using specific primers covering the canonical STAT3 binding motif within the S100A9 promoter: forward, 5��-ACACATCTTGCCCACCAGGAGGCTA-3��; reverse, 5��-AAATCCTGCTCCCAGCAAGGGTTCC-3��. Statistical Analysis Data are presented as means �� standard deviations (SDs). P values <0.05 were considered statistically significant. Two-tailed Student's t-tests were conducted using the GraphPad Prism software (ver.

5.01; GraphPad Software, La Jolla, CA, USA). Supporting Information Figure S1 Changes in interleukin-6 (IL-6) expression in the colons of an experimental ulcerative colitis mouse model established by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) treatment. (A) The difference (%) between baseline and subsequent body weight was measured daily for 11 days (left). Changes in clinical symptoms are Drug_discovery represented by the disease activity index (DAI; right). Data are presented as means �� standard deviations of values from six mice per group. *p<0.01, **p<0.001 vs.

Women were not eligible to participate if they

Women were not eligible to participate if they normally had a previous or concurrent malignancy including hematologic malignancies, were receiving active chemotherapy, or had chemotherapy or steroid-based therapy in the past 6 months. Women undergoing immunosuppressive treatments or women with an autoimmune disorder were also excluded. A positive breast cancer diagnosis was defined as women having invasive ductal or lobular carcinoma and ductal carcinoma in situ as verified by pathologic evaluation. Women diagnosed with either fibroadenoma, fibrocystic changes (including sclerosingadenosis, and benign papilloma), atypical ductal hyperplasia, atypical lobular hyperplasia and lobular carcinoma in situ were included in the control (healthy) group. As stated, to determine the clinical status of the women, a biopsy confirmation was required.

The control group had negative biopsy samples and was not dependent upon imaging interpretations. In situations where there was a difference between the results of the needle biopsy and surgery, the pathologic findings at surgery overruled the needle biopsy results. Verification of a definitive breast cancer diagnosis was dependent on both imaging and pathology concordance. Patients with biopsy samples with no pathological report, or with no final diagnosis, were excluded from the study. A total of 546 samples were obtained from five centers worldwide (Israel, Italy, and the USA) (Table 1). All blood samples were collected with local Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval after each participant signed an informed consent.

The trial registration ID is NCT00331942. Table 1 Study population information��number of samples collected at each site according to final diagnosis as verified by biopsy of the lesion. Patients were considered cases with either invasive cancer or DCIS and ADH, ALH, LCIS, and other lesions were … Plasma was collected from whole blood using heparin tubes (cat. No. 455084, Greiner Bio-One, Frickenhausen, Germany) centrifuged at 3,000 �� g for 10 min at room temperature (RT), and aliquots were stored frozen at ?80oC until ELISA analysis. At the MD Anderson Cancer Center only, plasma was centrifuged at 1,300 RPM for 30 min at 4oC and aliquots were stored frozen at ?80oC until ELISA analysis. Data forms were completed by each site to obtain clinical information and final pathological diagnosis.

Antigen selection for AAb assay Antigens were chosen from the current literature according to their known involvement in the humoral response against breast cancer (Table S1 in Supplementary Data on-line��Details of antigens used in this study). An initial set of 15 different antigens, all showing the ability to elicit antibody production in breast cancer patients (and some, to a GSK-3 smaller extent, in healthy populations as well) were chosen for initial testing (Table 2). All proteins and peptides were purchased from different suppliers (Table S1 in Supplementary Data on-line).

Multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods offer integration o

Multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods offer integration of multiple stakeholders interests, thus leading to more robust analysis and relevant selleck Tofacitinib policy option to deal with environmental issues [38�C41]. Hence, numerous examples of MCDM methods application in ecological sciences are present [42, 43]. Therefore, ARAS method developed by Zavadskas and Turskis [44] will be applied in this study.This study focuses on integrated assessment of sustainable management of abandoned grasslands aimed at a proper management of fertilizer application methods leading to reduction of GHG emissions, which in turn are significant drivers of air pollution and climate change.

The main aim of this investigation was to compare the impact of a single as well as multiple fertilizers on long-living biogenic greenhouse gas (CO2, N2O, and CH4) emissions and to determine the optimal fertilizing schemes in seminatural sward and cultural pasture ecosystems.In order to improve anthropogenic GHG inventory in agroecosystems and assess the viability of mitigation options, fertilizing risk management and biogenic environment pollution was evaluated applying new additive ratio assessment (ARAS) method. Multi-criteria analysis will contribute to an objective finding of environment-friendly solution.2. Metohds2.1. Study SiteThe measurements were conducted on two sites: abandoned for more than 20 years grassland (54��88��N, 23��83-84��E) and intensively managed cultural pasture (54��87��N, 23��83��E) have been situated at the Lithuanian University of Agriculture, Kaunas district, during vegetation period of 2009 (Figure 1).

The site is located in 5-6 hardiness zone [45] of temperate climate (C) with moderate warm summer and moderate cold winter [46]. Mean annual temperature ranges between 5.5 and 7.5��C with annual precipitation of 670mm. Total solar radiation inflow amounts 3600MJm?2 in Lithuania. Meteorological data (air temperature and precipitation) are obtained from Kaunas meteorology station, which is situated nearby study site (Figure 1). Figure 1Study sites: (a) seminatural grassland (54��88��N, 23��84��E) and (b) intensively managed cultural pasture (CP); (c) Kaunas Meteorology Station (54��87��N, 23��83��E) (LUA, Research Station; LTD …Both the sites of soil was clay loam topsoil over silt loam (Calc(ar)i-Endohypogleyic Luvisol) [47]. Humus horizon was 25cm deep.

Soil pH was 6.75�C6.97, humus content was 2.48�C2.51%, P2O5 was 239�C242mgkg?1, and K2O was 120�C144mgkg?1 in spring. Soil samples were taken at a 15�C20cm depth using auger (2.5cm in diameter) with 6�C8 boreholes per Anacetrapib replicated plot, and composite soil samples were formed in accordance with ISO 10 381�C1:2002. The soil samples were preconditioned for 15�C20 days at laboratory temperature (approximately 22��C) before analysis.

[31] analysed the volatiles emitted by the pericarp of unripe and

[31] analysed the volatiles emitted by the pericarp of unripe and ripe Italian lemon fruit and found that limonene level enhanced from 65.30 at immature stage to 68.30% at mature stage. These authors concluded also that the emitted volatiles are originated from glandular download catalog structures which give an essential oil similar to fruit emissions.On the other hand, other representative compounds in lemon oil were ��-terpinene and p-cymene (Table 3) which showed opposite behavior during ripening; in fact, p-cymene level decreased from 9.84% at immature stage to 0.23% at maturity while ��-terpinene level augmented to reach 9.96% at maturity. This is in accordance with their biosynthetic pathway, in which ��-terpinene is a precursor of p-cymene [32]. Further, the Germacrene D and valencene were the most abandon sesquiterpenes (Table 3).

Minor compounds including valencene have stand out in citrus as important flavour and aroma compounds [33].3.2.3. Orange Maltaise Differently to bitter orange and lemon, the peel essential oil of orange fruit extracted at three stages of maturity was mainly dominated by limonene which presented a level of 86.43, 81.52, and 85.35% at immature, semimature, and mature stages, respectively (Table 3). The rest of compounds were weakly represented with levels lower than 1% except for the monoterpenes ��-pinene, camphor and bornyl acetate. These compounds reached their maximum at semimature stage with levels of 1.80, 4.81, and 4.21%, respectively. The increase of camphor and ��-pinene levels suggests an activation of the related terpene synthases which catalyze their formation from the critical intermediates pinyl and bornyl cations, respectively [29].

Concerning sesquiterpenes, ��-humulene (0.16�C0.34%) followed by germacrene-D (tr-0.12%) were found to be the most represented compounds.Our results are in accordance with that of Droby et al. [9] who analysed the composition of peel essential oil of sweet orange Drug_discovery fruit at different stages of maturity and found that limonene was the predominant compound with percentage varying from 72.41 to 94.77%. However, these authors reported a decrease of limonene level during the course of fruit maturity especially at the end of the ripening. Such difference could be attributed to both interactions between genetic (biotic) and environmental (abiotic) factors since in their study, these authors considered ��Valencia�� and not maltaise cultivar.On the other hand, concerning the mature stage, Hosni et al. [15] reported a higher limonene level (96.00%) in the peel essential oil extracted from Tunisian maltaise orange than that obtained in our study. These authors found that ��-pinene was also a marked compound (1.82%). However, camphor was not detected in their samples.3.2.4.

First, Wyllie and colleagues have

First, Wyllie and colleagues have http://www.selleckchem.com/products/Dasatinib.html demonstrated that children or adolescents with abundant generalized or bilateral epileptiform discharges on EEG can be successfully treated with surgery in selected patients [9]. Second, Lee and coworkers have recently showed that, despite abundant generalized and multiregional EEG anomalies, resective epilepsy surgery can be successful in some children with LGS [13]. However, in the study of Lee et al., patients with contralateral ictal epileptic discharges were all excluded. Here, we are the first ever to report, to the best of our knowledge, that epilepsy surgery can also be considered in children or adolescents with LGS phenotype with contralateral ictal discharges.2. Methods2.1.

Diagnostic Criteria and EligibilityIn this retrospective chart study, we found that 52 patients during the period between 1997 and 2007 had LGS phenotype. Of them 18 patients underwent resective surgery and/or plus multiple-subpial transection (MST) and/or callosotomy. The defining characters of LGS used in the study were as follows: (1) multiple seizure types, mainly generalized, including tonic, atonic, and atypical absences; (2) primary and secondary SSW EEG discharges during wakefulness and paroxysmal fast activity (PFA) during sleep; (3) mental retardation.

Eligibility criteria for resective surgery included: (1) frequent (more than 4 times per month) and severe seizures interfering with the patient’s life; (2) seizures refractory to at least two AEDs and surgery was considered to be the last resort after extensive discussion with the families; (3) focal or multifocal lesions confirmed by imaging data (MRI or SPECT or CT scan); (4) EEG showing ictal or interictal hemispheric-dominant discharges, that is, more than 70% of the discharges originating from one hemisphere in both ictal and interictal periods, a lateralizing abnormality which coincides with imaging or SPECT findings; (5) surgically Carfilzomib accessible lesions, and the location of the lesions predicted that lesionectomy would cause no severe deficit; (6) parents’ and/or patients’ family had a reasonable understanding of the risks and benefits of the procedures. Duly-prepared informed consent forms were obtained. 2.2. Preoperative InvestigationAll patients in the study underwent a comprehensive evaluation including detailed history and neurological examination, routine and ambulatory EEG, long-term video EEG, and all satisfied the electroclinical criteria for LGS at least at some point in time.

Figure 4Master program The master program exhibits variations in

Figure 4Master program.The master program exhibits variations in the wave forms of the target images of each subsystem defined in the slave program. Figure 4 exhibits www.selleckchem.com/products/Tipifarnib(R115777).html the full-scale images (640 �� 480) of two camcorders and the wave forms of horizontal (X) and vertical (Y) displacements in red and blue lines, respectively. 2.2.1. Conversion of Images into Binary Images To convert grayscale images into binary images, we should begin by determining a suitable threshold value that concisely recognizes the position of target points. Therefore, an adaptive threshold technique using Otsu’s method [11] is implemented in this system. The process of binary image conversion using the adaptive threshold value is summarized in Figure 5. Figure 6 illustrates the significant difference between applying the adaptive threshold algorithm and not applying it.

As shown in Figure 6(a), some target points (white spots) can be missed when using an unreasonable threshold value, whereas there is little chance of missing targets when deploying the adaptive threshold algorithm, shown in Figure 6(b). Figure 7 shows some typical target panel recognitions in different situations using adaptive threshold technique.Figure 5Flowchart of binary image conversion.Figure 6Target recognition. (a) The same threshold value for four spots without adaptive threshold technique and (b) each threshold value for each spot using adaptive threshold technique.Figure 7Target recognition in various situations with adaptive threshold technique: (a) dark condition, (b) bright light, (c) bright light in the upper right corner, and (d) bright light in the upper left corner.

2.2.2. System Calibration for Time Synchronization Time calibration process needs to be carried out to maintain time synchronization between the master PC and the two slave PCs, and this important process is clearly shown in Figure 8. The master PC measures the time lag due to the wireless communication and differences in internal time clocks between the master and slave PCs. The master PC first sends the same size of dummy time data to all the slave PCs. When the data reach the slave PCs, they immediately return the received dummy data to the master PC. Then the master PC measures the time gap between the sending and receiving time to calculate the time delay between all the subsystems.

Subsequently, the master PC sends the internal clock time and the time delay of the slave PCs to each subsystem. Finally, the slave PCs adjust the internal Entinostat clock according to the time data received from the master PC. Time is calibrated every 60s, so the synchronization of time between the master PC and slave PCs remains consistent.Figure 8Time synchronization process: (a) time synchronization algorithm and (b) diagram of time synchronization process.