Dimension reduction for rotating Bose-Einstein condensates with anisotropic confinement

We consider the three-dimensional time-dependent Gross-Pitaevskii equation arising in the description of rotating Bose-Einstein condensates and study the corresponding scaling limit of strongly anisotropic confinement potentials. The resulting effective equations in one or two spatial dimensions, respectively, are rigorously obtained as special cases of an averaged three dimensional limit model. In the particular case where the rotation axis is not parallel to the strongly confining direction the resulting limiting model(s) include a negative, and thus, purely repulsive quadratic potential, which is not present in the original equation and which can be seen as an effective centrifugal force counteracting the confinement.Comment: 22 page

Rad51/Dmc1 paralogs and mediators oppose DNA helicases to limit hybrid DNA formation and promote crossovers during meiotic recombination

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We are grateful to J ¨urg Kohli, Ramsay J. McFarlane, Paul Russell, Gerald R. Smith, Walter W. Steiner and the National BioResource Project (NBRP) Japan for providing strains and to C. Bryer for technical assistance. FUNDING Wellcome Trust [090767/Z/09/Z to M.C.W.]; College of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Aberdeen [to A.L., in part]. Funding for open access charge: Wellcome TrustPeer reviewedPublisher PD

Non-crossing tree realizations of ordered degree sequences

We investigate the enumeration of non-crossing tree realizations of integer sequences, and we consider a special case in four parameters, that can be seen as a four-dimensional tetrahedron that generalizes Pascal's triangle and the Catalan numbers

PDE4 as a target in preterm labour

Cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases (PDE) are the enzymes catalyzing the hydrolysis and inactivation of the second messengers, cAMP and cGMP. Eleven PDE families are described to date, and selective inhibitors of some PDEs families are currently used in clinic for treating cardiovascular disorders, erectile dysfunction, and pulmonary hypertension. Isoforms of the PDE4 family are involved in smooth muscle contraction and inflammation. PDE4 selective inhibitors are currently in clinical trials for the treatment of diseases related to inflammatory disorders. Because of their myorelaxant properties, we first examined their expression in human myometrium and uncover an increased expression of one specific isoform, PDE4B2, in the near-term myometrium as compared to myometrium in the nonpregnant state. Using human myometrial cells in culture, we demonstrated that PDE4B2 can be induced by its own substrate, under the control of one of the major utero-contractile agonists, PGE2, itself upregulated by the proinflammatory cytokine IL-1β. Functionally, augmentation of global PDE4 activity decreases the ability of β-adrenergic agonists (the most commonly used tocolytic drugs) to inhibit myometrial contraction at the end of pregnancy and during pathophysiological situations, such as persistent intrauterine inflammation which is a major cause of very preterm delivery. Currently exploring the anti-inflammatory properties of PDE4 inhibitors in gestational tissues, we recently demonstrated the ability of these drugs to block a persistent inflammatory response of the foetal membranes in Humans and to prevent inflammation-driven preterm delivery and foetal demise in mice. These data open up a new therapeutical strategy to prevent inflammation-induced preterm delivery and its sequelae in very preterm infants

Second-trimester amniotic fluid proteins changes in subsequent spontaneous preterm birth

IntroductionThe global sequence of the pathogenesis of preterm labor remains unclear. This study aimed to compare amniotic fluid concentrations of extracellular matrix-related proteins (procollagen, osteopontin and IL-33), and of cytokines (IL-19, IL-6, IL-20, TNF alpha, TGF beta, and IL-1 beta) in asymptomatic women with and without subsequent spontaneous preterm delivery. Material and methodsWe used amniotic fluid samples of singleton pregnancy, collected by amniocentesis between 16 and 20 weeks' gestation, without stigmata of infection (i.e., all amniotic fluid samples were tested with broad-range 16 S rDNA PCR to distinguish samples with evidence of past bacterial infection from sterile ones), during a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to perform a nested case-control laboratory study. Cases were women with a spontaneous delivery before 37 weeks of gestation (preterm group). Controls were women who gave birth at or after 39 weeks (full term group). Amniotic fluid concentrations of the extracellular matrix-related proteins and cytokines measured by immunoassays were compared for two study groups. : NCT00718705. ResultsBetween July 2008 and July 2011, in 12 maternal-fetal medicine centers in France, 166 women with available PCR-negative amniotic fluid samples were retained for the analysis. Concentrations of procollagen, osteopontin, IL-19, IL-6, IL-20, IL-33, TNF alpha, TGF beta, and IL-1 beta were compared between the 37 who gave birth preterm and the 129 women with full-term delivery. Amniotic fluid levels of procollagen, osteopontin, IL-19, IL-33, and TNF alpha were significantly higher in the preterm than the full-term group. IL-6, IL-20, TGF beta, and IL-1 beta levels did not differ between the groups. ConclusionsIn amniotic fluid 16 S rDNA PCR negative samples obtained during second-trimester amniocentesis, extracellular matrix-related protein concentrations (procollagen, osteopontin and IL-33), together with IL-19 and TNF alpha, were observed higher at this time in cases of later spontaneous preterm birth

Couplage entre éléments finis et représentation intégrale pour les problèmes de diffraction acoustique et électromagnétique (analyse de convergence des méthodes de Krylov et méthodes multipôles rapides)

Le travail effectué dans cette thèse a consisté à analyser différents aspects mathématiques et numériques d'une stratégie de résolution des problèmes de propagation d'onde acoustique et électromagnétique en domaine extérieur. Nous nous intéressons plus particulièrement à la méthode de couplage entre éléments finis et représentation intégrale (CEFRI) où nous analysons un algorithme de résolution itérative par analogie avec une méthode de décomposition de domaine ainsi que l'utilisation de la méthode multipôles rapide (FMM). Le système à résoudre fait intervenir des opérateurs intégraux ce qui rend crucial le recours à des méthodes rapides telles que la FMM. L'analogie avec une méthode de décomposition de domaine s'obtient par extension au problème de Maxwell des résultats établis par F. Ben Belgacem et al. pour le problème de Helmholtz posé en domaine non borné. Pour cela, nous avons montré le lien entre la méthode CEFRI et la méthode de Schwarz avec recouvrement total pour la résolution du problème de Maxwell en domaine non borné. Cette relecture de la méthode CEFRI offre également une technique de préconditionnement pour les solveurs de Krylov et nous a permis d'avoir une idée préliminaire sur la convergence de ces méthodes. Ainsi, nous nous intéressons plutôt à des méthodes itératives rapides. Pour cela, nous avons mené une analyse théorique afin de montrer la convergence superlinéaire du GMRES dans une configuration sphérique. La validation de ces aspects a été réalisée par l'enrichissement de nombreux intégrants de la librairie éléments finis Mélina++, en C++.We are concerned with the study of different aspects of a numerical strategy for the resolution of acoustic and electromagnetic scattering problems. We focus more particu- larly on a coupling of finite element and integral representation (CEFRI) : we study an iterative algorithm by analogy with a domain decomposition method, and consider the use of the Fast Multipole Method (FMM). The system to be solved involves integral operators which requires the use of fast methods such as the FMM. The correspondence with a domain decomposition method is obtained by extending to the exterior Maxwell problem the results derived by F. Ben Belgacem et al. for the Helmholtz problem posed in unbounded domain. To this aim, we show the analogy to the Schwarz method with total overlap. This interpretation of CEFRI suggests a preconditioner for Krylov solvers and enables us to have a preliminary idea of their convergence. We derive in this context an analytical proof of a superlinear convergence of GMRES in a spherical configuration. The validation of these aspects has been achieved by the enrichment of the finite element library Mélina++ in C++.RENNES1-Bibl. électronique (352382106) / SudocSudocFranceF

Cyclic AMP increases COX-2 expression via mitogen-activated kinase in human myometrial cells

Cyclic AMP (cAMP) is the archetypal smooth muscle relaxant, mediating the effects of many hormones and drugs. However, recently PGI2, acting via cAMP/PKA, was found to increase contraction-associated protein expression in myometrial cells and to promote oxytocin-driven myometrial contractility. Cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2) is the rate-limiting enzyme in prostaglandin synthesis, which is critical to the onset and progression of human labour. We have investigated the impact of cAMP on myometrial COX-2 expression, synthesis and activity. Three cAMP agonists (8-bromo-cAMP, forskolin and rolipram) increased COX-2 mRNA expression and further studies confirmed that this was associated with COX-2 protein synthesis and activity (increased PGE2 and PGI2 in culture supernatant) in primary cultures of human myometrial cells. These effects were neither reproduced by specific agonists nor inhibited by specific inhibitors of known cAMP-effectors (PKA, EPAC and AMPK). We then used shRNA to knockdown the same effectors and another recently described cAMP-effector PDZ-GEF1-2, without changing the response to cAMP. We found that MAPK activation mediated the cAMP effects on COX-2 expression and that PGE2 acts through EP-2 to activate MAPK and increase COX-2. These data provide further evidence in support of a dual role for cAMP in the regulation of myometrial function

Cyclic AMP signalling pathways in the regulation of uterine relaxation

Studying the mechanism(s) of uterine relaxation is important and will be helpful in the prevention of obstetric difficulties such as preterm labour, which remains a major cause of perinatal mortality and morbidity. Multiple signalling pathways regulate the balance between maintaining relative uterine quiescence during gestation, and the transition to the contractile state at the onset of parturition. Elevation of intracellular cyclic AMP promotes myometrial relaxation, and thus quiescence, via effects on multiple intracellular targets including calcium channels, potassium channels and myosin light chain kinase. A complete understanding of cAMP regulatory pathways (synthesis and hydrolysis) would assist in the development of better tocolytics to delay or inhibit preterm labour. Here we review the enzymes involved in cAMP homoeostasis (adenylyl cyclases and phosphodiesterases) and possible myometrial substrates for the cAMP dependent protein kinase. We must emphasise the need to identify novel pharmacological targets in human pregnant myometrium to achieve safe and selective uterine relaxation when this is indicated in preterm labour or other obstetric complications