Tameness and Artinianness of Graded Generalized Local Cohomology Modules

Let $R=\bigoplus_{n\geq 0}R_n$, \fa\supseteq \bigoplus_{n> 0}R_n and $M$ and $N$ be a standard graded ring, an ideal of $R$ and two finitely generated graded $R$-modules, respectively. This paper studies the homogeneous components of graded generalized local cohomology modules. First of all, we show that for all $i\geq 0$, H^i_{\fa}(M, N)_n, the $n$-th graded component of the $i$-th generalized local cohomology module of $M$ and $N$ with respect to \fa, vanishes for all $n\gg 0$. Furthermore, some sufficient conditions are proposed to satisfy the equality \sup\{\en(H^i_{\fa}(M, N))| i\geq 0\}= \sup\{\en(H^i_{R_+}(M, N))| i\geq 0\}. Some sufficient conditions are also proposed for tameness of H^i_{\fa}(M, N) such that i= f_{\fa}^{R_+}(M, N) or i= \cd_{\fa}(M, N), where f_{\fa}^{R_+}(M, N) and \cd_{\fa}(M, N) denote the $R_+$-finiteness dimension and the cohomological dimension of $M$ and $N$ with respect to \fa, respectively. We finally consider the Artinian property of some submodules and quotient modules of H^j_{\fa}(M, N), where $j$ is the first or last non-minimax level of H^i_{\fa}(M, N).Comment: 18pages, with some revisions and correction

Modelling the Effects of Competing Anions on Fluoride Removal by Functionalized Polyacrylonitrile Coated with Iron Oxide Nanoparticles

Fe2O3 nano particles supported on functionalized poly-acrylonitrile was prepared. PAN-oxime-nano Fe2O3 was characterized by XRD, FTIR andTEMand used for fluoride adsorption. The adsorption capacity increased with increasing initial fluoride concentration and reaction time. Fluoride-removal performance of PAN-oxime-nano Fe2O3 was also tested in the presence of various competing anions usually found in drinking water. Competitive sorption between fluoride and competing anions showed a minimum preference for chloride counterions. Carbonate was the greatest competitor for fluoride removal followed by phosphate and sulphate. Counterion presence decreased fluoride adsorption capacity in order of CO32−> PO43−> SO42−> Cl−. The presence of anions at various concentrations decreased fluoride adsorption capacity on PAN-oxime-nano Fe2O3 by 1.22 to 6.51 mg g–1. Effects of each two anions exist simultaneously in aqueous solution on fluoride adsorption was investigated using Tukey’s test (called also a pairwise comparison). Tukey’s HSD results indicate that the differences between various pairs of anions are significant (P < 0.05), except for chloride–sulphate (P = 0.08). In the design of PAN-oxime-nano Fe2O3 for environmental applications, the strong influence of the counter ions must be considered.KEYWORDS Fluoride, PAN-oxime- nano Fe2O3, counterion, adsorption

Output-only Modal Identification of beams with different boundary condition

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) evaluates the integrity of a structure by observing its dynamic responses by an array of sensors over time to determine the current health state of the structure. The most important step of SHM is system identification which in civil structures is the identification of modal parameters of structures. Due to numerous limitations of input-output methods, system identification of ambient vibration structures using output-only identification techniques has become a key issue in structural health monitoring and assessment of engineering structures. In this paper, four beams with different boundary conditions and with arbitrary loading have been modeled in finite element software, ANSYS, and the responses (Acceleration of nodes) have been achieved. By using these data and the codes written in MATLAB software, the modal parameters (natural frequencies, mode shapes) of the beams are identified with FDD (frequency Domain Decomposition) and PP (Peak Picking) methods and then justified with the results of input-output method which was determined by frequency relation function (FRF). The results indicate a good agreement between the three methods for determining the dynamic characteristics of beams.Comment: Conference paper. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:2010.0749

Effect of Anionic Polymers on Drug Loading and Release from Clindamycin Phosphate Solid Lipid Nanoparticles

Purpose: To develop and characterize solid lipid nanoparticle (SLN) systems containing dextran sulfate or sodium alginate as anionic polymers for the delivery of clindamycin phosphate as a model hydrophilic cationic drug.Methods: A multi-level factorial design was used for the preparation and optimization of clindamycin SLNs. Polymers (dextran sulfate and sodium alginate), Tween 80, and Pluronic F68 were chosen as the independent variables. The SLNs were prepared using stearic acid as the lipid matrix by an emulsion congealing technique with cold homogenization. Particle size and drug loading were evaluated as the primary responses. The morphology and drug release rate of the selected formulations were also determined.Results: The results revealed that incorporation of anionic polymers increased drug loading of theSLNs. Dextran sulfate had a greater effect on drug loading, increasing it from 1.32 to 18.19 %, compared to the 6.73 % achieved using sodium alginate. Dextran sulfate also reduced drug release rate by half compared with sodium alginate, probably due to the higher charge density, lower molecular weight and lower branching density of the ionic polymer.Conclusion: Incorporation of anionic polymers can increase the loading of clindamycin phosphate into SLNs. Drug release from SLNs is also dependent on the polymer type.Keywords: Clindamycin, Solid lipid nanoparticles, Dextran sulfate, Sodium alginate, Anionic polymers, Drug release, Drug loadin

Optimal B-spline Mapping of Flow Imaging Data for Imposing Patient-specific Velocity Profiles in Computational Hemodynamics.

OBJECTIVE: We propose a novel method to map patient-specific blood velocity profiles obtained from imaging data such as 2D flow MRI or 3D colour Doppler ultrasound) to geometric vascular models suitable to perform CFD simulations of haemodynamics. We describe the implementation and utilisation of the method within an open-source computational hemodynamics simulation software (CRIMSON). METHODS: The proposed method establishes point-wise correspondences between the contour of a fixed geometric model and time-varying contours containing the velocity image data, from which a continuous, smooth and cyclic deformation field is calculated. Our methodology is validated using synthetic data, and demonstrated using two different in-vivo aortic velocity datasets: a healthy subject with normal tricuspid valve and a patient with bicuspid aortic valve. RESULTS: We compare our method with the state-of-the-art Schwarz-Christoffel method, in terms of preservation of velocities and execution time. Our method is as accurate as the Schwarz-Christoffel method, while being over 8 times faster. CONCLUSIONS: Our mapping method can accurately preserve either the flow rate or the velocity field through the surface, and can cope with inconsistencies in motion and contour shape. SIGNIFICANCE: The proposed method and its integration into the CRIMSON software enable a streamlined approach towards incorporating more patient-specific data in blood flow simulations

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor downregulation: a novel mechanism of resistance to anti-angiogenic therapy.

Anti-angiogenic therapies for cancer such as VEGF neutralizing antibody bevacizumab have limited durability. While mechanisms of resistance remain undefined, it is likely that acquired resistance to anti-angiogenic therapy will involve alterations of the tumor microenvironment. We confirmed increased tumor-associated macrophages in bevacizumab-resistant glioblastoma patient specimens and two novel glioblastoma xenograft models of bevacizumab resistance. Microarray analysis suggested downregulated macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) to be the most pertinent mediator of increased macrophages. Bevacizumab-resistant patient glioblastomas and both novel xenograft models of resistance had less MIF than bevacizumab-naive tumors, and harbored more M2/protumoral macrophages that specifically localized to the tumor edge. Xenografts expressing MIF-shRNA grew more rapidly with greater angiogenesis and had macrophages localizing to the tumor edge which were more prevalent and proliferative, and displayed M2 polarization, whereas bevacizumab-resistant xenografts transduced to upregulate MIF exhibited the opposite changes. Bone marrow-derived macrophage were polarized to an M2 phenotype in the presence of condition-media derived from bevacizumab-resistant xenograft-derived cells, while recombinant MIF drove M1 polarization. Media from macrophages exposed to bevacizumab-resistant tumor cell conditioned media increased glioma cell proliferation compared with media from macrophages exposed to bevacizumab-responsive tumor cell media, suggesting that macrophage polarization in bevacizumab-resistant xenografts is the source of their aggressive biology and results from a secreted factor. Two mechanisms of bevacizumab-induced MIF reduction were identified: (1) bevacizumab bound MIF and blocked MIF-induced M1 polarization of macrophages; and (2) VEGF increased glioma MIF production in a VEGFR2-dependent manner, suggesting that bevacizumab-induced VEGF depletion would downregulate MIF. Site-directed biopsies revealed enriched MIF and VEGF at the enhancing edge in bevacizumab-naive patients. This MIF enrichment was lost in bevacizumab-resistant glioblastomas, driving a tumor edge M1-to-M2 transition. Thus, bevacizumab resistance is driven by reduced MIF at the tumor edge causing proliferative expansion of M2 macrophages, which in turn promotes tumor growth

Fate of the Aortic Arch Following Surgery on Aortic Root and Ascending Aorta in Bicuspid Aortic Valve.

BACKGROUND: Recent guidelines support more aggressive surgery for aneurysms of the ascending aorta and root in patients with bicuspid aortic valve. However, the fate of the arch after surgery of the root and ascending aorta is unknown. We set out to assess outcomes following root and ascending aortic surgery and subsequent growth of the arch. METHODS: Between 2005 and 2016, 536 consecutive patients underwent surgery for aneurysm of the root and ascending aorta. 168 had bicuspid aortic valve. Patients with dissection were excluded. Arch diameter was measured before and after surgery, at six months and then annually. RESULTS: Of 168 patients, 127 (75.6%) had aortic root replacement and 41 (24.4%) had ascending replacement. Mean age was 57±12.8 years, 82.7% were males and five operations were performed during pregnancy. There was one (0.6%) hospital death. One (0.6%) patient had a stroke and one (0.6%) had re-sternotomy for bleeding. Median ICU and hospital stays were 1 and 6 days respectively. Follow-up was complete for 94% at a median of 5.9 years (1-139 months). Aortic arch diameter was 2.9 cm preoperatively and 3.0 cm at follow-up. There was 97% freedom from reoperation and none of the patients required surgery on the arch. CONCLUSIONS: Prophylactic arch replacement during aortic root and ascending aortic surgery in patients with bicuspid aortic valve is not supported. Our data does not support long term surveillance of the rest of the aorta in this population