Weakly Enforced Boundary Conditions for the NURBS-Based Finite Cell Method

In this paper, we present a variationally consistent formulation for the weak enforcement of essential boundary conditions as an extension to the finite cell method, a fictitious domain method of higher order. The absence of boundary fitted elements in fictitious domain or immersed boundary methods significantly restricts a strong enforcement of essential boundary conditions to models where the boundary of the solution domain coincides with the embedding analysis domain. Penalty methods and Lagrange multiplier methods are adequate means to overcome this limitation but often suffer from various drawbacks with severe consequences for a stable and accurate solution of the governing system of equations. In this contribution, we follow the idea of NITSCHE [29] who developed a stable scheme for the solution of the Laplace problem taking weak boundary conditions into account. An extension to problems from linear elasticity shows an appropriate behavior with regard to numerical stability, accuracy and an adequate convergence behavior. NURBS are chosen as a high-order approximation basis to benefit from their smoothness and flexibility in the process of uniform model refinement

Cytotoxic effect of methanolic extracts and partially purified fractions of some medicinal plants used in traditional medication

119-126In this study, the cytotoxic activity of methanolic extracts different parts of seven plant species was checked on NRK-52E (Rat renal proximal tubular cells) using MTT assay. Based on their cytotoxic activities, methanol extract of Vitex negundo (V. negundo) was selected and their partition in hexane, chloroform, ethylacetate, butanol and water was done. Among all fractions, chloroform fraction was most active on NRK-52E cells as determined by MTT assay. In NRK-52E cells induction of apoptosis was checked by analyzing DNA fragmentation by agarose gel electrophoresis. To study the molecular mechanism of apoptosis, expression levels of different genes BCL-2, BCL-Xl, SOD, TGF, Foxo and BAX were assessed using quantitative real-time PCR. Chloroform fraction of Vitex negundo (VnCE) was found to be highly antiproliferative and also showed DNA fragmentation in NRK-52E cells. VnCE showed up regulation of BCL-2, BCL-Xl, SOD, Foxo and BAX genes and down regulation of TGF gene

Counselling to include tailored use of combined oral contraception in clinical practice: an evaluation

BACKGROUND: Combined oral contraception (COC, 'the pill') remains the most prescribed method of contraception in the UK. Although a variety of regimens for taking monophasic COC are held to be clinically safe, women are not routinely counselled about these choices and there is a lack of evidence on how to provide this information to women. AIM: To assess the usefulness and feasibility of including tailored use of monophasic COC within routine COC counselling in a sexual and reproductive health (SRH) service using a structured format. METHOD: Using a structured format, healthcare professionals (HCPs) counselled new and established COC users attending an SRH service about standard and tailored ways of taking the pill. Questionnaires were used to survey both the HCPs and patients immediately after the initial consultation, and then the patients again 8 weeks later. RESULTS: Nearly all patients (98%, n=95) felt it was helpful to be informed of the different ways of using monophasic COC by the HCP, without giving too much information at one time (96%, n=108). The HCPs were confident of their COC counselling (99%, n=110) and did not think the consultations took significantly longer (88%, n=98). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that information on different pill taking regimens is useful and acceptable to patients, and can improve contraceptive pill user choice. It is also feasible for HCPs to perform COC counselling to include tailored pill use during routine consultations in a clinical setting

PREDICTION OF FUNCTIONAL, STRUCTURAL AND STABILITY CHANGES IN PMM2 GENE ASSOCIATED WITH NEPHROTIC SYNDROME USING COMPUTATIONAL ANALYSIS

Objective: Nephrotic syndrome defines as a disorder with a group of symptoms like proteinuria, hypoalbuminemia, hyperlipidemia, and edema. PMM2 encodes phosphomannosemutase protein enzyme involved in the synthesis of N-glycan. Methods: Different Insilico analysis tools: SIFT, PolyPhen, PROVEAN, SNPandGO, MetaSNP, PhDSNP, MutPred, I-Mutant, STRUM, PROCHECK-Ramachandran, COACH and ConSurf, were used to check the effect of nsSNP on protein structure and function. Results: The genetic polymorphism in the PMM2 gene was retrieved from NCBI ClinVar and UniProtKB. Total 20 SNPs were predicted most significant and responsible for disease-causing and decrease protein stability. Conclusion: This study helps to discover disease-causing deleterious SNPs with different computational tools and gives information about potent SNPs

Infrared receivers for low background astronomy: Incoherent detectors and coherent devices from one micrometer to one millimeter

The status of incoherent detectors and coherent receivers over the infrared wavelength range from one micrometer to one millimeter is described. General principles of infrared receivers are included, and photon detectors, bolometers, coherent receivers, and important supporting technologies are discussed, with emphasis on their suitability for low background astronomical applications. Broad recommendations are presented and specific opportunities are identified for development of improved devices

Climacteric Lowers Plasma Levels of Platelet-Derived Microparticles: A Pilot Study in Pre-versus Postmenopausal Women

Background: Climacteric increases the risk of thrombotic events by alteration of plasmatic coagulation. Up to now, less is known about changes in platelet-(PMP) and endothelial cell-derived microparticles (EMP). Methods: In this prospective study, plasma levels of microparticles (MP) were compared in 21 premenopausal and 19 postmenopausal women. Results: No altered numbers of total MP or EMP were measured within the study groups. However, the plasma values of CD61-exposing MP from platelets/megakaryocytes were higher in premenopausal women (5,364 x 10(6)/l, range 4,384-17,167) as compared to postmenopausal women (3,808 x 10(6)/l, range 2,009-8,850; p = 0.020). This differentiation was also significant for the subgroup of premenopausal women without hormonal contraceptives (5,364 x 10(6)/l, range 4,223-15,916; p = 0.047; n = 15). Furthermore, in premenopausal women, higher plasma levels of PMP exposing CD62P were also present as compared to postmenopausal women (288 x 10(6)/l, range 139-462, vs. 121 x 10(6)/l, range 74-284; p = 0.024). This difference was also true for CD63+ PMP levels (281 x 10(6)/l, range 182-551, vs. 137 x 10(6)/l, range 64-432; p = 0.015). Conclusion: Climacteric lowers the level of PMP but has no impact on the number of EMP in women. These data suggest that PMP and EMP do not play a significant role in enhancing the risk of thrombotic events in healthy, postmenopausal women. Copyright (C) 2012 S. Karger AG, Base

Early MicroRNA expression profile as a prognostic biomarker for the development of pelvic inflammatory disease in a mouse model of chlamydial genital infection

It is not currently possible to predict the probability of whether a woman with a chlamydial genital infection will develop pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). To determine if specific biomarkers may be associated with distinct chlamydial pathotypes, we utilized two Chlamydia muridarum variants (C. muridarum Var001 [CmVar001] and CmVar004) that differ in their abilities to elicit upper genital tract pathology in a mouse model. CmVar004 has a lower growth rate in vitro and induces pathology in only 20% of C57BL/6 mouse oviducts versus 83.3% of oviducts in CmVar001-infected mice. To determine if chemokine and cytokine production within 24 h of infection is associated with the outcome of pathology, levels of 15 chemokines and cytokines were measured. CmVar004 infection induced significantly lower levels of CXCL1, CXCL2, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), and CCL2 in comparison to CmVar001 infection with similar rRNA (rs16) levels for Chlamydiae. A combination of microRNA (miRNA) sequencing and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis of 134 inflammation-related miRNAs was performed 24 h postinfection to determine if the chemokine/cytokine responses would also be reflected in miRNA expression profiles. Interestingly, 12 miRNAs (miR-135a-5p, miR298-5p, miR142-3p, miR223-3p, miR299a-3p, miR147-3p, miR105, miR325-3p, miR132-3p, miR142-5p, miR155-5p, and miR-410-3p) were overexpressed during CmVar004 infection compared to CmVar001 infection, inversely correlating with the respective chemokine/cytokine responses. To our knowledge, this is the first report demonstrating that early biomarkers elicited in the host can differentiate between two pathological variants of chlamydiae and be predictive of upper tract disease. © 2014 Yeruva et al