On the Ginzburg-Landau Analysis of the Upper Critical Field Hc2 in MgB2

Temperature dependence of the upper critical field Hc2 (T) for the superconducting magnesium diboride, MgB2, is studied in the vicinity of Tc by using a two-band Ginzburg-Landau (G-L) theory. The temperature dependence of Hc2 (T) near Tc exhibits a positive curvature. In addition, the calculated temperature dependence and its higher order derivatives are also shown to be in a good agreement with the experimental data. In analogy with the multi-band character of Eliashberg microscopic theory, the positive curvature of Hc2 (T) is described reasonably by solving the two-band of G-L theory.Comment: 14 pages, 2 figures, submitted to SUST November 200

Effect of maternal ABO blood type on birth weight and preeclampsia

Background: ABO blood group has been recognized as a risk factor for distinct disease states. The association between ABO blood group and adverse pregnancy outcomes has not been extensively studied, especially in relation to birth weight and preeclampsia (PE). The aim of the present study is to determine whether ABO blood group contributes to the adverse pregnancy outcomes including low birth weight and PE.Methods: Medical data including ABO phenotypes were collected from hospital electronic database and retrospectively reviewed. Adverse pregnancy outcomes included PE and low birth weight. Birth week was also noted for each subject.Results: 2177 charts of mothers who had given birth in our hospital were studied. Overall 605 (27.8%) women had type O blood, 1056 (48.5%) had type A blood, 369 (16.9%) had type B blood and 147 (6.8%) had type AB blood. Pregnant women with type B blood group had significantly lower birth weights compared with type O, A and AB. Birth weeks of all groups were found to be similar with no statistically significant difference. A total of 167 mothers were recorded as having PE. No association was observed between PE and ABO blood groups of study participants.Conclusions: Although maternal ABO phenotype is associated with low birth weight, no association was found between blood type and preeclampsia. We postulate that maternal/fetal immune system genes which are directly associated with ABO blood groups could affect pregnant with a resulting birth weight alterations

The prevelance of human papillomavirus (HPV) genotypes detected by PCR in women with normal and abnormal cervico-vaginal cytology

Objectives: Cervical cancer is the second most common type of cancer for women worldwide with a great proportion proved to be related to human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. As infection with HPV is the strongest risk factor for cervical neoplasia, detection of HPV genotypes in cervical and vaginal specimens of women with normal and abnormal cytology seems to be of paramount importance in cervical cancer screening. The objective of the study is to evaluate the prevalence and HPV genotypes among women with normal or abnormal Pap smear tests. Material and methods: This retrospective study was conducted in a tertiary care university hospital in western Turkey. A total of 201 patients in whom both HPV typing and Pap test was performed between 2012 and 2016 in our obstetrics and gynecology department were enrolled in this study. Clinical and laboratory data were obtained for all participants. Cervical smears of the patients were classified by the Bethesda system and HPV analyses were done using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. Results: This study included 201 women, 72 of whom had normal and 129 of whom had abnormal Pap smear results. HPV DNA was detected in 91 (45.2%) of the 201 investigated women. Out of 72 patients with normal cervico-vaginal cytology, HPV positivity was detected in 35 (49%) patients, whereas 33 (35%) patients out of 94 with ASCUS , 18 (62%) patients out of 29 with LSIL and 5 (83%) patients out of 6 with HSIL had HPV positivity. Out of 35 HPV positive women that had normal pap test results, 25 (75%) were found to have high risk HPV (HR-HPV) genotypes. In women with ASCUS, LSIL and HSIL, HR-HPV genotype rates were found to be 94%, 89% and 100% respectively. The most common identified HPV types were HPV58, HPV16, HPV31, HPV33, HPV11 and HPV35. Conclusions: The frequency of HPV infection was found to be higher in our study compared to previous reports. Moreover, although HR-HPV genotypes were also detected in patients with normal cervical cytology, a majority of patients with HR-HPV genotypes were associated with abnormal cervical smear cytology including high rates of atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance, low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion, and high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion

Anti-ApoA-1 IgGs in Familial Hypercholesterolemia Display Paradoxical Associations with Lipid Profile and Promote Foam Cell Formation

Anti-Apolipoprotein A-1 autoantibodies (anti-ApoA-1 IgG) promote atherogenesis via innate immune receptors, and may impair cellular cholesterol homeostasis (CH). We explored the presence of anti-ApoA-1 IgG in children (5-15 years old) with or without familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), analyzing their association with lipid profiles, and studied their in vitro effects on foam cell formation, gene regulation, and their functional impact on cholesterol passive diffusion (PD)

A new submodelling technique for multi-scale finite element computation of electromagnetic fields: application in bioelectromagnetism

Complex multi-scale Finite Element (FE) analyses always involve high number of elements and therefore require very long time of computations. This is caused by the fact, that considered effects on smaller scales have greater influences on the whole model and larger scales. Thus, mesh density should be as high as required by the smallest scale factor. New submodelling routine has been developed to sufficiently decrease the time of computation without loss of accuracy for the whole solution. The presented approach allows manipulation of different mesh sizes on different scales and, therefore total optimization of mesh density on each scale and transfer results automatically between the meshes corresponding to respective scales of the whole model. Unlike classical submodelling routine, the new technique operates with not only transfer of boundary conditions but also with volume results and transfer of forces (current density load in case of electromagnetism), which allows the solution of full Maxwell's equations in FE space. The approach was successfully implemented for electromagnetic solution in the forward problem of Magnetic Field Tomography (MFT) based on Magnetoencephalography (MEG), where the scale of one neuron was considered as the smallest and the scale of whole-brain model as the largest. The time of computation was reduced about 100 times, with the initial requirements of direct computations without submodelling routine of 10 million elements

Diabetes and baseline glucose are associated with inflammation, left ventricular function and short- and long-term outcome in acute coronary syndromes: role of the novel biomarker Cyr 61.

Hyperglycemia in the setting of an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) impacts short term outcomes, but little is known about longer term effects. We therefore designed this study to firstly determine the association between hyperglycemia and short term and longer term outcomes in patients presenting with ACS and secondly evaluate the prognostic role of diabetes, body mass index (BMI) and the novel biomarker Cyr61 on outcomes. The prospective Special Program University Medicine-Acute Coronary Syndrome (SPUM-ACS) cohort enrolled 2168 patients with ACS between December 2009 and October 2012, of which 2034 underwent PCI (93.8%). Patients were followed up for 12 months. Events were independently adjudicated by three experienced cardiologists. Participants were recruited from four tertiary hospitals in Switzerland: Zurich, Geneva, Lausanne and Bern. Participants presenting with acute coronary syndromes and who underwent coronary angiography were included in the analysis. Patients were grouped according to history of diabetes (or HbA1c greater than 6%), baseline blood sugar level (BSL; < 6, 6-11.1 and > 11.1 mmol/L) and body mass index (BMI). The primary outcome was major adverse cardiac events (MACE) which was a composite of myocardial infarction, stroke and all-cause death. Secondary outcomes included the individual components of the primary endpoint, revascularisations, bleeding events (BARC classification) and cerebrovascular events (ischaemic or haemorrhagic stroke or TIA). Patients with hyperglycemia, i.e. BSL ≥ 11.1 mmol/L, had higher levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), white blood cell count (WBC), creatinine kinase (CK), higher heart rates and lower left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and increased N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide. At 30 days and 12 months, those with BSL ≥ 11.1 mmol/L had more MACE and death compared to those with BSL < 6.0 mmol/L or 6.0-11.1 mmol/L (HR-ratio 4.78 and 6.6; p < 0.001). The novel biomarker Cyr61 strongly associated with high BSL and STEMI and was independently associated with 1 year outcomes (HR 2.22; 95% CI 1.33-3.72; Tertile 3 vs. Tertile 1). In this large, prospective, independently adjudicated cohort of in all comers ACS patients undergoing PCI, both a history of diabetes and elevated entry glucose was associated with inflammation and increased risk of MACE both at short and long-term. The mediators might involve increased sympathetic activation, inflammation and ischemia as reflected by elevated Cyr61 levels leading to larger levels of troponin and lower LVEF. Trial registration Clinical Trial Registration Number: NCT01000701. Registered October 23, 2009

History of peripheral artery disease and cardiovascular risk of real-word patients with acute coronary syndrome: Role of inflammation and comorbidities.

BACKGROUND Patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) remain at risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) recurrences. Peripheral artery disease (PAD) may identify a very high risk (VHR) group who may derive greater benefit from intensified secondary prevention. METHODS Among ACS-patients enrolled in the prospective multi-center Special Program University Medicine (SPUM), we assessed the impact of PAD on major cardiovascular events (MACE: composite of myocardial infarction, stroke and all-cause death) and major bleeding. Multivariate analysis tested the relation of each significant variable with MACE, as well as biomarkers of inflammation and novel markers of atherogenesis. RESULTS Out of 4787 ACS patients, 6.0% (n = 285) had PAD. PAD-patients were older (p < 0.001), with established CVD and signs of increased persistent inflammation (hs-CRP; 23.6 ± 46.5 vs 10.4 ± 27.2 mg/l, p < 0.001 and sFlt-1; 1399.5 ± 1501.3 vs 1047.2 ± 1378.6 ng/l, p = 0.018). In-hospital-death (3.2% vs 1.4%, p = 0.022) and -MACE (5.6% vs 3.0%, p = 0.017) were higher in PAD-patients. MACE at 1 year (18.6% vs 7.9%,p < 0.001) remained increased even after adjustment for confounders (Adj. HR 1.53, 95% CI: 1.14-2.08, p = 0.005). Major bleeding did not differ between groups (Adj. HR 1.18; 95% CI 0.71-1.97, p = 0.512). Although PAD predicted MACE, PAD-patients were prescribed less frequently for secondary prevention at discharge. CONCLUSIONS In this real-world ACS patient cohort, concomitant PAD is a marker of VHR and is associated with increased and persistent inflammation, higher risk for MACE without an increased risk of major bleeding. Therefore, a history of PAD may be useful to identify those ACS patients at VHR who require more aggressive secondary prevention

Incidence, Predictors, and Clinical Impact of Early Prasugrel Cessation in Patients With ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction.

BACKGROUND: Early withdrawal of recommended antiplatelet treatment with clopidogrel adversely affects prognosis following percutaneous coronary interventions. Optimal antiplatelet treatment is essential following ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) given the increased risk of thrombotic complications. This study assessed the frequency, predictors, and clinical impact of early prasugrel cessation in patients with STEMI undergoing primary percutaneous coronary interventions. METHODS AND RESULTS: We pooled patients with STEMI discharged on prasugrel in 2 prospective registries (Bern PCI Registry [NCT02241291] and SPUM-ACS (Inflammation and Acute Coronary Syndromes) [NCT01000701]) and 1 STEMI trial (COMFORTABLE-AMI (Comparison of Biomatrix Versus Gazelle in ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction) [NCT00962416]). Prasugrel treatment status at 1 year was categorized as no cessation; crossover to another P2Y12-inhibitor; physician-recommended discontinuation; and disruption because of bleeding, side effects, or patient noncompliance. In time-dependent analyses, we assessed the impact of prasugrel cessation on the primary end point, a composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction, and stroke. Of all 1830 included patients (17% women, mean age 59 years), 83% were treated with new-generation drug-eluting stents. At 1 year, any prasugrel cessation had occurred in 13.8% of patients including crossover (7.2%), discontinuation (3.7%), and disruption (2.9%). Independent predictors of any prasugrel cessation included female sex, age, and history of cerebrovascular event. The primary end point occurred in 5.2% of patients and was more frequent following disruption (hazard ratio 3.04, 95% confidence interval,1.34-6.91; P=0.008), without significant impact of crossover or discontinuation. Consistent findings were observed for all-cause death, myocardial infarction, and stent thrombosis following prasugrel disruption. CONCLUSIONS: In this contemporary study of patients with STEMI, early prasugrel cessation was not uncommon and primarily involved change to another P2Y12-inhibitor. Disruption was the only type of early prasugrel cessation associated with statistically significant excess in ischemic risk within 1 year following primary percutaneous coronary interventions