1,268 research outputs found
Improved predictions by Pcons.net using multiple templates
Summary: Multiple templates can often be used to build more accurate homology models than models built from a single template. Here we introduce PconsM, an automated protocol that uses multiple templates to build protein models. PconsM has been among the top-performing methods in the recent CASP experiments and consistently perform better than the single template models used in Pcons.net. In particular for the easier targets with many alternative templates with a high degree of sequence identity, quality is readily improved with a few percentages over the highest ranked model built on a single template. PconsM is available as an additional pipeline within the Pcons.net protein structure prediction server
Burn Care in the Greek and Roman Antiquity
The last century brought about more rapid new developments in the treatment of burns, which significantly lowered the mortality of burn injuries. However, burns were already treated in antiquity, where the threshold from spirituality to scientific medicine originated. The existing literature on burn treatment is very limited and there are many cross-references, some of them incorrect. The aim of this work by an interdisciplinary team of historians and physicians is to offer a more precise reproduction of the burn treatment of Greek and Roman antiquity using original texts in context and with a modern scientific background. There are many sources from ancient doctors on the subject of burn treatment, as well as the treatment of burned-out wounds and frostbite, which have not yet been mentioned. The literature research also showed an understanding of scientific contexts in ancient medicine, such as antiseptics or rheology. Interestingly, there was a change in burn medicine from everyday Greek medicine to Roman military medicine with other burn patterns. The care of patients using analgetics and the therapy of burn shock arose from the literature. The ancient world is considered to be the foundation of medicine, but it is believed to have been based mainly on shamanism rather than science. However, already more than two millennia ago, burns were correctly assessed and treated according to today’s scientific standards and scientific relationships were recognized
Reality Conditions and Ashtekar Variables: a Different Perspective
We give in this paper a modified self-dual action that leads to the
-ADM formalism without having to face the difficult second class
constraints present in other approaches (for example if one starts from the
Hilbert-Palatini action). We use the new action principle to gain some new
insights into the problem of the reality conditions that must be imposed in
order to get real formulations from complex general relativity. We derive also
a real formulation for Lorentzian general relativity in the Ashtekar phase
space by using the modified action presented in the paper.Comment: 22 pages, LATEX, Preprint CGPG-94/10-
Getting the basics right-staging in head and neck cancer
The cornerstone of oncology literature and therefore medical practice is the ability to compare outcomes of treatment modalities for different stages of cancer
Hamiltonian Poincar\'e Gauge Theory of Gravitation
We develop a Hamiltonian formalism suitable to be applied to gauge theories
in the presence of Gravitation, and to Gravity itself when considered as a
gauge theory. It is based on a nonlinear realization of the Poincar\'e group,
taken as the local spacetime group of the gravitational gauge theory, with
as the classification subgroup. The Wigner--like rotation induced by
the nonlinear approach singularizes out the role of time and allows to deal
with ordinary vectors. We apply the general results to the
Einstein--Cartan action. We study the constraints and we obtain Einstein's
classical equations in the extremely simple form of time evolution equations of
the coframe. As a consequence of our approach, we identify the
gauge--theoretical origin of the Ashtekar variables.Comment: 38 pages, plainTe
Covariance properties and regularization of conserved currents in tetrad gravity
We discuss the properties of the gravitational energy-momentum 3-form within
the tetrad formulation of general relativity theory. We derive the covariance
properties of the quantities describing the energy-momentum content under
Lorentz transformations of the tetrad. As an application, we consider the
computation of the total energy (mass) of some exact solutions of Einstein's
general relativity theory which describe compact sources with asymptotically
flat spacetime geometry. As it is known, depending on the choice of tetrad
frame, the formal total integral for such configurations may diverge. We
propose a natural regularization method which yields finite values for the
total energy-momentum of the system and demonstrate how it works on a number of
explicit examples.Comment: 36 pages, Revtex, no figures; small changes, published versio
On the energy of homogeneous cosmologies
An energy for the homogeneous cosmological models is presented. More
specifically, using an appropriate natural prescription, we find the energy
within any region with any gravitational source for a large class of gravity
theories--namely those with a tetrad description--for all 9 Bianchi types. Our
energy is given by the value of the Hamiltonian with homogeneous boundary
conditions; this value vanishes for all regions in all Bianchi class A models,
and it does not vanish for any class B model. This is so not only for
Einstein's general relativity but, moreover, for the whole 3-parameter class of
tetrad-teleparallel theories. For the physically favored one parameter
subclass, which includes the teleparallel equivalent of Einstein's theory as an
important special case, the energy for all class B models is, contrary to
expectation, negative.Comment: 11 pages, reformated with minor change
Pseudotensors and quasilocal energy-momentum
Early energy-momentum investigations for gravitating systems gave reference
frame dependent pseudotensors; later the quasilocal idea was developed.
Quasilocal energy-momentum can be determined by the Hamiltonian boundary term,
which also identifies the variables to be held fixed on the boundary. We show
that a pseudotensor corresponds to a Hamiltonian boundary term. Hence they are
quasilocal and acceptable; each is the energy-momentum density for a definite
physical situation with certain boundary conditions. These conditions are
identified for well-known pseudotensors.Comment: LaTeX (REVTex), 4 pages, no figures, revised Title, abstract,
introduction and conclusio
Clinical significance of VEGF-A, -C and -D expression in esophageal malignancies
Vascular endothelial growth factors ( VEGF)- A, - C and - D are members of the proangiogenic VEGF family of glycoproteins. VEGF-A is known to be the most important angiogenic factor under physiological and pathological conditions, while VEGF-C and VEGF-D are implicated in the development and sprouting of lymphatic vessels, so called lymphangiogenesis. Local tumor progression, lymph node metastases and hematogenous tumor spread are important prognostic factors for esophageal carcinoma ( EC), one of the most lethal malignancies throughout the world. We found solid evidence in the literature that VEGF expression contributes to tumor angiogenesis, tumor progression and lymph node metastasis in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma ( SCC), and many authors could show a prognostic value for VEGF-assessment. In adenocarcinoma (AC) of the esophagus angiogenic properties are acquired in early stages, particularly in precancerous lesions like Barrett's dysplasia. However, VEGF expression fails to give prognostic information in AC of the esophagus. VEGF-C and VEGF-D were detected in SCC and dysplastic lesions, but not in normal mucosa of the esophagus. VEGF-C expression might be associated with lymphatic tumor invasion, lymph node metastases and advanced disease in esophageal SCC and AC. Therapeutic interference with VEGF signaling may prove to be a promising way of anti-angiogenic co-treatment in esophageal carcinoma. However, concrete clinical data are still pending
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