On the General Analytical Solution of the Kinematic Cosserat Equations

Based on a Lie symmetry analysis, we construct a closed form solution to the kinematic part of the (partial differential) Cosserat equations describing the mechanical behavior of elastic rods. The solution depends on two arbitrary analytical vector functions and is analytical everywhere except a certain domain of the independent variables in which one of the arbitrary vector functions satisfies a simple explicitly given algebraic relation. As our main theoretical result, in addition to the construction of the solution, we proof its generality. Based on this observation, a hybrid semi-analytical solver for highly viscous two-way coupled fluid-rod problems is developed which allows for the interactive high-fidelity simulations of flagellated microswimmers as a result of a substantial reduction of the numerical stiffness.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figure

Dense active matter model of motion patterns in confluent cell monolayers

Epithelial cell monolayers show remarkable displacement and velocity correlations over distances of ten or more cell sizes that are reminiscent of supercooled liquids and active nematics. We show that many observed features can be described within the framework of dense active matter, and argue that persistent uncoordinated cell motility coupled to the collective elastic modes of the cell sheet is sufficient to produce swirl-like correlations. We obtain this result using both continuum active linear elasticity and a normal modes formalism, and validate analytical predictions with numerical simulations of two agent-based cell models, soft elastic particles and the self-propelled Voronoi model together with in-vitro experiments of confluent corneal epithelial cell sheets. Simulations and normal mode analysis perfectly match when tissue-level reorganisation occurs on times longer than the persistence time of cell motility. Our analytical model quantitatively matches measured velocity correlation functions over more than a decade with a single fitting parameter.Comment: updated version accepted for publication in Nat. Com

All that glisters is not gold: a comparison of electronic monitoring versus filled prescriptions – an observational study

BACKGROUND: Poor compliance with antihypertensive medication is assumed to be an important reason for unsatisfactory control of blood pressure. Poor compliance is difficult to detect. Each method of measuring compliance has its own strengths and weaknesses. The aim of the present study was to compare patient compliance with antihypertensive drugs as measured by two methods, electronic monitoring versus refill compliance. METHODS: 161 patients with a diagnosis of hypertension for at least a year prior to inclusion, and inadequate blood pressure control (systolic blood pressure ≥ 160 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure ≥ 95 mmHg) despite the use of antihypertensive drugs, were included. Patients' pharmacy records from 12 months prior to inclusion were obtained. Refill compliance was calculated as the number of days for which the pills were prescribed divided by the total number of days in this period. After inclusion compliance was measured with an electronic monitor that records time and date of each opening of the pillbox. Agreement between both compliance measures was calculated using Spearman's correlation coefficient and Cohen's kappa coefficient. RESULTS: There was very little agreement between the two measures. Whereas refill compliance showed a large range of values, compliance as measured by electronic monitoring was high in almost all patients with estimates between 90% and 100%. Cohen's kappa coefficient was 0.005. CONCLUSION: While electronic monitoring is often considered to be the gold standard for compliance measurements, our results suggest that a short-term electronic monitoring period with the patient being aware of electronic monitoring is probably insufficient to obtain valid compliance data. We conclude that there is a strong need for more studies that explore the effect of electronic monitoring on patient's compliance

Odorant-Binding Proteins of the Malaria Mosquito Anopheles funestus sensu stricto

is one of the major malaria vector species in sub-Saharan Africa. Olfaction is essential in guiding mosquito behaviors. Odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) are highly expressed in insect olfactory tissues and involved in the first step of odorant reception. An improved understanding of the function of malaria mosquito OBPs may contribute to identifying new attractants/repellents and assist in the development of more efficient and environmentally friendly mosquito controlling strategies. female antennae. To compare the absolute efficiency/potency of these chemicals, corrections were made for differences in volatility by determining the exact amount in a stimulus puff. Fourteen AfunOBP genes were cloned and their expression patterns were analyzed. AfunOBP1, 3, 7, 20 and 66 showed olfactory tissue specificity by reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR). Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis showed that among olfactory-specific OBPs, AfunOBP1 and 3 are the most enriched OBPs in female antennae. Binding assay experiments showed that at pH 7, AfunOBP1 significantly binds to 2-undecanone, nonyl acetate, octyl acetate and 1-octen-3-ol but AfunOBP3, which shares 68% identify with AfunOBP1 at amino acid level, showed nearly no binding activity to the selected 12 EAG-active odorant compounds. olfactory system, and help developing new mosquito control strategies to reduce malaria transmission

Nutritional care of medical inpatients: a health technology assessment

BACKGROUND: The inspiration for the present assessment of the nutritional care of medical patients is puzzlement about the divide that exists between the theoretical knowledge about the importance of the diet for ill persons, and the common failure to incorporate nutritional aspects in the treatment and care of the patients. The purpose is to clarify existing problems in the nutritional care of Danish medical inpatients, to elucidate how the nutritional care for these inpatients can be improved, and to analyse the costs of this improvement. METHODS: Qualitative and quantitative methods are deployed to outline how nutritional care of medical inpatients is performed at three Danish hospitals. The practices observed are compared with official recommendations for nutritional care of inpatients. Factors extraneous and counterproductive to optimal nutritional care are identified from the perspectives of patients and professional staff. A review of the literature illustrates the potential for optimal nutritional care. A health economic analysis is performed to elucidate the savings potential of improved nutritional care. RESULTS: The prospects for improvements in nutritional care are ameliorated if hospital management clearly identifies nutritional care as a priority area, and enjoys access to management tools for quality assurance. The prospects are also improved if a committed professional at the ward has the necessary time resources to perform nutritional care in practice, and if the care staff can requisition patient meals rich in nutrients 24 hours a day. At the kitchen production level prospects benefit from a facilitator contact between care and kitchen staff, and if the kitchen staff controls the whole food path from the kitchen to the patient. At the patient level, prospects are improved if patients receive information about the choice of food and drink, and have a better nutrition dialogue with the care staff. Better nutritional care of medical patients in Denmark is estimated to hold a cost savings potential reaching approximately USD 22 million. CONCLUSION: Every hospital and every bed ward has its strengths and weaknesses, but none of the participating bed wards fully satisfy nutritional care success criteria. All organisational levels have a significant potential for improvements of nutritional care of medical inpatients

Comparative Analysis of the Heptahelical Transmembrane Bundles of G Protein-Coupled Receptors

Background: G protein-coupled receptors represent a large family of eukaryotic membrane proteins, and are involved in almost all physiological processes in humans. Recent advances in the crystallographic study of these receptors enable a detailed comparative analysis of the commonly shared heptahelical transmembrane bundle. Systematic comparison of the bundles from a variety of receptors is indispensable for understanding not only of the structural diversification optimized for the binding of respective ligands but also of the structural conservation required for the common mechanism of activation accompanying the interaction changes among the seven helices. Methodology/Principal Findings: We have examined the bundles of 94 polypeptide chains from almost all available structures of 11 receptors, which we classified into either inactivated chain or activated chain, based on the type of bound ligand. For the inactivated chains, superposition of 200 residue bundles by secondary structure matching demonstrated that the bound ligands share a laterally limited cavity in the extracellular section of the bundle. Furthermore, a distinct feature was found for helix III of bovine rhodopsin, which might have evolved to lower its activity in the presence of 11-cis-retinal, to a level that other receptors could hardly achieve with any currently available ligands. Conclusions/Significance: Systematic analysis described here would be valuable for understanding of the rearrangement o

Geriatric patients' expectations of their physicians: findings from a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Geriatric health is a neglected and under-explored area internationally and in Pakistan. We aimed to ascertain the expectations of the geriatric patients from their physicians and the factors associated with patient satisfaction in this particular age bracket.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional survey was carried out at a tertiary care teaching hospital in Karachi, Pakistan. Data collection was carried out via face-to-face interviews based on structured, pre-tested questionnaires. All consenting individuals aged 65 years or above were recruited into the study. Convenience sampling was used to draw the sample. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 16. Geriatric patient's expectations from physicians were elicited using a set of 11 questions that were graded on a scale of 1-3 where 1 = not important, 2 = important, 3 = very important.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Three hundred and eighty geriatric patients were interviewed. The response rate of this study was 89.8%. The mean age of the respondents was 73.4 ± 6.8 years. Two hundred and forty eight respondents (65.3%) were female. Diabetes mellitus (53.7%), hypertension (59.5%), arthritis (40.5%) and renal disease (32.1%) were common ailments among geriatric patients. More than 50% of the patients were visiting their physicians once every two to three months. Discussing treatment options and letting patients make the final decision (79.2%), prescribing minimum possible medications (84.5%), physician's holistic knowledge about the spectrum of care issues for geriatric patients (79.2%), being given a realistic but optimistic picture of future health by physicians (85.5%) were ranked as very important expectations by patients from their physicians. Cumulative household income (p = 0.005), most important health complaint (p = 0.01) and frequency of experiencing health complaint (p < 0.001) emerged as independent predictors of the satisfaction of geriatric patients from care provided by physicians.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We have documented the expectations of the geriatric patients from their physicians in a developing country. Physicians belonging to all disciplines should keep these expectations in mind during clinical encounters with geriatric patients.</p

Search for CP violation in D+→ϕπ+ and D+s→K0Sπ+ decays

A search for CP violation in D + → ϕπ + decays is performed using data collected in 2011 by the LHCb experiment corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fb−1 at a centre of mass energy of 7 TeV. The CP -violating asymmetry is measured to be (−0.04 ± 0.14 ± 0.14)% for candidates with K − K + mass within 20 MeV/c 2 of the ϕ meson mass. A search for a CP -violating asymmetry that varies across the ϕ mass region of the D + → K − K + π + Dalitz plot is also performed, and no evidence for CP violation is found. In addition, the CP asymmetry in the D+s→K0Sπ+ decay is measured to be (0.61 ± 0.83 ± 0.14)%

HSV Neutralization by the Microbicidal Candidate C5A

Genital herpes is a major risk factor in acquiring human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) infection and is caused by both Herpes Simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and HSV-2. The amphipathic peptide C5A, derived from the non-structural hepatitis C virus (HCV) protein 5A, was shown to prevent HIV-1 infection but neither influenza nor vesicular stomatitis virus infections. Here we investigated the antiviral function of C5A on HSV infections. C5A efficiently inhibited both HSV-1 and HSV-2 infection in epithelial cells in vitro as well as in an ex vivo epidermal infection model. C5A destabilized the integrity of the viral HSV membrane. Furthermore, drug resistant HSV strains were inhibited by this peptide. Notably, C5A-mediated neutralization of HSV-1 prevented HIV-1 transmission. An in vitro HIV-1 transmigration assay was developed using primary genital epithelial cells and HSV infection increased HIV-1 transmigration. Treatment with C5A abolished HIV-1 transmigration by preventing HSV infection and by preserving the integrity of the genital epithelium that was severely compromised by HSV infection. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that C5A represents a multipurpose microbicide candidate, which neutralizes both HIV-1 and HSV, and which may interfere with HIV-1 transmission through the genital epithelium