Modified Polymer Matrix Nano Biocomposite for Bone Repair and Replacement- Radiological Study

Synthetic biomaterials for bone repair and substitute must be yield to critical criteria , one of them, their mechanical properties should not be very less than that for natural bone to prevent fast failure, nor much higher to prevent stress shielding effect which led to fast implant collapse. Other important issue, it should not cause inflammation in implantation region. According to these criteria, many researchers investigated several biomaterials. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) reinforced polyetheretherketone (PEEK) biocomposite is considered a promising biomaterials, because of their superior properties and good biocompatibility with host tissue. Alumina (Al2O3), considered a bio inert ceramic used in this work to modify mechanical properties. Hot pressing technique adopted in this work with pressing pressure of 50 MPa at 370,380,390, and400 C° compounding temperatures to produce different compositions implants. Animal model used to study inflammation behaviour for implants as a comparison with control group. X-Ray radiological test were carried out for both, implants and control regions. Mechanical testing shows good values, similar to natural bone. No inflammation observed in injury area

Responsive in-season nitrogen management for cereals

Current nitrogen (N) management strategies for worldwide cereal production systems are characterized by low N use efficiency (NUE), environmental contamination, and considerable ongoing debate regarding what can be done to improve N fertilizer management. Development of innovative strategies that improve NUE and minimize off-field losses is crucial to sustaining cereal-based farming. In this paper, we review the major managerial causes for low NUE, including (1) poor synchrony between fertilizer N and crop demand, (2) uniform field applications to spatially variable landscapes that commonly vary in crop N need, and (3) failure to account for temporally variable influences on crop N needs. Poor synchronization is mainly due to large pre-plant applications of fertilizer N, resulting in high levels of inorganic soil N long before rapid crop uptake occurs. Uniform applications within fields discount the fact that N supplies from the soil, crop N uptake, and crop response are spatially variable. Current N management decisions also overlook year-to-year weather variations and sometimes fail to account for soil N mineralized in warm, wet years, ignoring indigenous N supply. The key to optimizing tradeoffs amongst yield, profit, and environmental protection is to achieve synchrony between N supply and crop demand, while accounting for spatial and temporal variability in soil N. While some have advocated a soil-based management zones (MZ) approach as a means to direct variable N applications and improve NUE, this method disregards yearly variation in weather. Thus, it seems unlikely that the soil-based MZ concept alone will be adequate for variable application of crop N inputs. Alternatively, we propose utilizing emerging computer and electronic technologies that focus on the plant to assess N status and direct in-season spatially variable N applications. Several of these technologies are reviewed and discussed. One technology showing promise is ground-based active-light reflectance measurements converted to NDVI or other similar indices. Preliminary research shows this approach addresses the issue of spatial variability and is accomplished at a time within the growing season so that N inputs are synchronized to match crop N uptake. We suggest this approach may be improved by first delineating a field into MZ using soil or other field properties to modify the decision associated with ground-based reflectance sensing. While additional adaptive research is needed to refine these newer technologies and subsequent N management decisions, preliminary results are encouraging.We expect N use efficiency can be greatly enhanced using this plant-based responsive strategy for N management in cereals

Discovery of Genetic Variation on Chromosome 5q22 Associated with Mortality in Heart Failure

Failure of the human heart to maintain sufficient output of blood for the demands of the body, heart failure, is a common condition with high mortality even with modern therapeutic alternatives. To identify molecular determinant

Meta-analysis of 49 549 individuals imputed with the 1000 Genomes Project reveals an exonic damaging variant in ANGPTL4 determining fasting TG levels

Background So far, more than 170 loci have been associated with circulating lipid levels through genomewide association studies (GWAS). These associations are largely driven by common variants, their function is often not known, and many are likely to be markers for the causal variants. In this study we aimed to identify more new rare and low-frequency functional variants associated with circulating lipid levels. Methods We used the 1000 Genomes Project as a reference panel for the imputations of GWAS data from ~60 000 individuals in the discovery stage and ~90 000 samples in the replication stage. Results Our study resu

Genome-wide association and Mendelian randomisation analysis provide insights into the pathogenesis of heart failure

Heart failure (HF) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. A small proportion of HF cases are attributable to monogenic cardiomyopathies and existing genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have yielded only limited insights, leaving the observed heritability of HF largely unexplained. We report results from a GWAS meta-analysis of HF comprising 47,309 cases and 930,014 controls. Twelve independent variants at 11 genomic loci are associated with HF, all of which demonstrate one or more associations with coronary artery disease (CAD), atrial fibrillation, or reduced left ventricular function, suggesting shared genetic aetiology. Functional analysis of non-CAD-associated loci implicate genes involved in cardiac development (MYOZ1, SYNPO2L), protein homoeostasis (BAG3), and cellular senescence (CDKN1A). Mendelian randomisation analysis supports causal roles for several HF risk factors, and demonstrates CAD-independent effects for atrial fibrillation, body mass index, and hypertension. These findings extend our knowledge of the pathways underlying HF and may inform new therapeutic strategies

In vitro and in situ activation of the complement system by the fungus Lacazia loboi

Since there are no studies evaluating the participation of the complement system (CS) in Jorge Lobo's disease and its activity on the fungus Lacazia loboi, we carried out the present investigation. Fungal cells with a viability index of 48% were obtained from the footpads of BALB/c mice and incubated with a pool of inactivated serum from patients with the mycosis or with sterile saline for 30 min at 37 ºC. Next, the tubes were incubated for 2 h with a pool of noninactivated AB+ serum, inactivated serum, serum diluted in EGTA-MgCl2, and serum diluted in EDTA. The viability of L. loboi was evaluated and the fungal suspension was cytocentrifuged. The slides were submitted to immunofluorescence staining using human anti-C3 antibody. The results revealed that 98% of the fungi activated the CS by the alternative pathway and no significant difference in L. loboi viability was observed after CS activation. In parallel, frozen histological sections from 11 patients were analyzed regarding the presence of C3 and IgG by immunofluorescence staining. C3 and IgG deposits were observed in the fungal wall of 100% and 91% of the lesions evaluated, respectively. The results suggest that the CS and immunoglobulins may contribute to the defense mechanisms of the host against L. loboi

Centrality Dependence Of The Pseudorapidity Density Distribution For Charged Particles In Pb-pb Collisions At √snn=2.76tev

7264/Mai61062