Traveling solitary wave solutions for the symmetric regularized long-wave equation

In this paper, we employ the extended tanh function method to nd the exact traveling wave solutions involving parameters of the symmetric regularized long- wave equation. When these parameters are taken to be special values, the solitary wave solutions are derived from the exact traveling wave solutions. These studies reveal that the symmetric regularized long-wave equation has a rich varietyof solutions

Needs assessment to strengthen capacity in water and sanitation research in Africa:experiences of the African SNOWS consortium

Despite its contribution to global disease burden, diarrhoeal disease is still a relatively neglected area for research funding, especially in low-income country settings. The SNOWS consortium (Scientists Networked for Outcomes from Water and Sanitation) is funded by the Wellcome Trust under an initiative to build the necessary research skills in Africa. This paper focuses on the research training needs of the consortium as identified during the first three years of the project

Glycosylation defects underlying fetal alcohol spectrum disorder: a novel pathogenetic model: “When the wine goes in, strange things come out” – S.T. Coleridge, The Piccolomini

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is an umbrella term used to describe the craniofacial dysmorphic features, malformations, and disturbances in growth, neurodevelopment and behavior occurring in individuals prenatally exposed to alcohol. Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) represents the severe end of this spectrum. Many pathophysiological mechanisms have hitherto been proposed to account for the disrupted growth and morphogenesis seen in FAS. These include impaired cholesterol-modification of the Sonic hedgehog morphogen, retinoic acid deficiency, lipoperoxidative damage due to alcohol-induced reactive oxygen species combined with reduced antioxidant defences, and malfunctioning cell adhesion molecules. In this report, we propose a completely novel concept regarding the pathogenesis of FAS. Based on our observation that transferrin isoelectric focusing (TIEF) – the most widely used screening tool for congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG) – was transiently abnormal in a newborn with FAS and a confirmed maternal history of gestational alcohol abuse, we came to believe that FAS exemplifies a congenital disorder of glycosylation secondary to alcohol-inflicted disruption of (N-linked) protein glycosylation. Various pieces of evidence were found in the literature to substantiate this hypothesis. This observation implies, among others, that one might need to consider the possibility of maternal alcohol consumption in newborns with transient glycosylation abnormalities. We also present an integrated pathophysiological model of FAS, which incorporates all existing theories mentioned above as well as our novel concept. This model highlights the pivotal role of disrupted isoprenoid metabolism in the origination of FAS

Metodologias alternativas no ensino de física

Screening a compound library of quinolinone derivatives identified compound 11a as a new P2X7 receptor antagonist. To optimize its activity, we assessed structure-activity relationships (SAR) at three different positions, R_1, R_2 and R_3, of the quinolinone scaffold. SAR analysis suggested that a carboxylic acid ethyl ester group at the R_1 position, an adamantyl carboxamide group at R_2 and a 4-methoxy substitution at the R_3 position are the best substituents for the antagonism of P2X7R activity. However, because most of the quinolinone derivatives showed low inhibitory effects in an IL-1β ELISA assay, the core structure was further modified to a quinoline skeleton with chloride or substituted phenyl groups. The optimized antagonists with the quinoline scaffold included 2-chloro-5-adamantyl-quinoline derivative (16c) and 2-(4-hydroxymethylphenyl)-5-adamantyl-quinoline derivative (17k), with IC_(50) values of 4 and 3 nM, respectively. In contrast to the quinolinone derivatives, the antagonistic effects of the quinoline compounds (16c and 17k) were paralleled by their ability to inhibit the release of the pro-inflammatory cytokine, IL-1β, from LPS/IFN-γ/BzATP-stimulated THP-1 cells (IC_(50) of 7 and 12 nM, respectively). In addition, potent P2X7R antagonists significantly inhibited the sphere size of TS15-88 glioblastoma cells

Iron Behaving Badly: Inappropriate Iron Chelation as a Major Contributor to the Aetiology of Vascular and Other Progressive Inflammatory and Degenerative Diseases

The production of peroxide and superoxide is an inevitable consequence of aerobic metabolism, and while these particular "reactive oxygen species" (ROSs) can exhibit a number of biological effects, they are not of themselves excessively reactive and thus they are not especially damaging at physiological concentrations. However, their reactions with poorly liganded iron species can lead to the catalytic production of the very reactive and dangerous hydroxyl radical, which is exceptionally damaging, and a major cause of chronic inflammation. We review the considerable and wide-ranging evidence for the involvement of this combination of (su)peroxide and poorly liganded iron in a large number of physiological and indeed pathological processes and inflammatory disorders, especially those involving the progressive degradation of cellular and organismal performance. These diseases share a great many similarities and thus might be considered to have a common cause (i.e. iron-catalysed free radical and especially hydroxyl radical generation). The studies reviewed include those focused on a series of cardiovascular, metabolic and neurological diseases, where iron can be found at the sites of plaques and lesions, as well as studies showing the significance of iron to aging and longevity. The effective chelation of iron by natural or synthetic ligands is thus of major physiological (and potentially therapeutic) importance. As systems properties, we need to recognise that physiological observables have multiple molecular causes, and studying them in isolation leads to inconsistent patterns of apparent causality when it is the simultaneous combination of multiple factors that is responsible. This explains, for instance, the decidedly mixed effects of antioxidants that have been observed, etc...Comment: 159 pages, including 9 Figs and 2184 reference

Evaluation of appendicitis risk prediction models in adults with suspected appendicitis

Background Appendicitis is the most common general surgical emergency worldwide, but its diagnosis remains challenging. The aim of this study was to determine whether existing risk prediction models can reliably identify patients presenting to hospital in the UK with acute right iliac fossa (RIF) pain who are at low risk of appendicitis. Methods A systematic search was completed to identify all existing appendicitis risk prediction models. Models were validated using UK data from an international prospective cohort study that captured consecutive patients aged 16–45 years presenting to hospital with acute RIF in March to June 2017. The main outcome was best achievable model specificity (proportion of patients who did not have appendicitis correctly classified as low risk) whilst maintaining a failure rate below 5 per cent (proportion of patients identified as low risk who actually had appendicitis). Results Some 5345 patients across 154 UK hospitals were identified, of which two‐thirds (3613 of 5345, 67·6 per cent) were women. Women were more than twice as likely to undergo surgery with removal of a histologically normal appendix (272 of 964, 28·2 per cent) than men (120 of 993, 12·1 per cent) (relative risk 2·33, 95 per cent c.i. 1·92 to 2·84; P < 0·001). Of 15 validated risk prediction models, the Adult Appendicitis Score performed best (cut‐off score 8 or less, specificity 63·1 per cent, failure rate 3·7 per cent). The Appendicitis Inflammatory Response Score performed best for men (cut‐off score 2 or less, specificity 24·7 per cent, failure rate 2·4 per cent). Conclusion Women in the UK had a disproportionate risk of admission without surgical intervention and had high rates of normal appendicectomy. Risk prediction models to support shared decision‐making by identifying adults in the UK at low risk of appendicitis were identified