On the Existence of H1H^1 solutions for Stationary Linearized Boltzmann Equations in a Small Convex Domain

In this article, we investigate the incoming boundary value problem for the stationary linearized Boltzmann equations in $\Omega \subseteq \mathbb{R}^{3}$. For a $C^2$ bounded domain with boundary of positive Gaussian curvature, the existence theory is established in $H^{1}(\Omega \times \mathbb{R}^{3})$ provided that the diameter of the domain $\Omega$ is small enough.Comment: 19 pages, 1 figur

Determination of Nucleopolyhedrovirus’ Taxonomic Position

To date , over 78 genomes of nucleopolyhedroviruses (NPVs) have been sequenced and deposited in NCBI. How to define a new virus from the infected larvae in the field is usually the first question. Two NPV strains, which were isolated from casuarina moth (L. xylina) and golden birdwing larvae (Troides aeacus), respectively, displayed the same question. Due to the identity of polyhedrin (polh) sequences of these two isolates to that of Lymantria dispar MNPV and Bombyx mori NPV, they are named LdMNPV-like virus and TraeNPV, provisionally. To further clarify the relationships of LdMNPV-like virus and TraeNPV to closely related NPVs, Kimura 2-parameter (K-2-P) analysis was performed. Apparently, the results of K-2-P analysis that showed LdMNPV-like virus is an LdMNPV isolate, while TraeNPV had an ambiguous relationship to BmNPV. Otherwise, MaviNPV, which is a mini-AcMNPV, also exhibited a different story by K-2-P analysis. Since K-2-P analysis could not cover all species determination issues, therefore, TraeNPV needs to be sequenced for defining its taxonomic position. For this purpose, different genomic sequencing technologies and bioinformatic analysis approaches will be discussed. We anticipated that these applications will help to exam nucleotide information of unknown species and give an insight and facilitate to this issue

Future change in extreme precipitation in East Asian spring and Mei-yu seasons in two high-resolution AGCMs

Precipitation in the spring and Mei-yu seasons, the main planting and growing period in East Asia, is crucial to water resource management. Changes in spring and Mei-yu extreme precipitation under global warming are evaluated based on two sets of high-resolution simulations with various warming pattern of sea surface temperature (SST'spa). In the spring season, extreme precipitation exhibits larger enhancements over the northern flank of the present-day prevailing rainy region and a tendency of increased occurrence and enhanced intensity in the probability distribution. These changes imply a northward extension of future spring rainband. Although the mean precipitation shows minor change, enhanced precipitation intensity, less total rainfall occurrence, and prolonged consecutive dry days suggest a more challenging water resource management in the warmer climate. The projected enhancement in precipitation intensity is robust compared with the internal variability related to initial conditions (σˆint) and the uncertainty caused by SST'spa (σˆΔSST). In the Mei-yu season, extreme precipitation strengthens and becomes more frequent over the present-day prevailing rainband region. The thermodynamic component of moisture flux predominantly contributes to the changes in the spring season. In the Mei-yu season, both the thermodynamic and dynamic components of moisture flux enhance the moisture transport and intensify the extreme precipitation from southern China to northeast Asia. Compared with spring season, projecting future Mei-yu precipitation is more challenging because of its higher uncertainty associated with 1) the σˆint and σˆΔSST embedded in the projections and 2) the model characteristics of present-day climatology that determines the spatial distribution of precipitation enhancement.publishedVersio

The role of autologous bone graft in surgical treatment of hypertrophic nonunion of midshaft clavicle fractures

AbstractBackgroundThis study was conducted to evaluate the results of treating hypertrophic nonunion of mid-shaft clavicle fracture with a limited contact dynamic compression plate (LC-DCP) without autologous cancellous bone graft.MethodsFrom 1995 to 2008, 51 cases of hypertrophic nonunion of mid-shaft clavicle fracture were managed with open reduction and internal fixation by LC-DCP without bone graft involvement. Of these 51 cases, 30 had nonunion after failure of initial surgical treatment (Group 1), and 21 had nonunion after failure of conservative treatment (Group 2). Preoperative and postoperative case management were the same for both groups, with the average follow-up period being 20.4 months (range 18–36). Our study evaluated the radiographic results and functional outcomes of these cases according to the quick disability of arm, shoulder, and hand score.ResultsAll 51 cases resulted in uneventful unions. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups regarding patient demography, cause of injury, preoperative and postoperative functional scores, length of operation, union time, and duration of hospitalization (p>0.05).ConclusionLC-DCP fixation is an effective method for treating hypertrophic nonunion of mid-shaft clavicle fracture. Local bone graft is sufficient to achieve necessary union, and autologous bone graft from other sites of the body appears unnecessary

Delayed Suspicion, Treatment and Isolation of Tuberculosis Patients in Pulmonology/Infectious Diseases and Non-Pulmonology/Infectious Diseases Wards

Background/PurposeDelayed diagnosis and isolation increases the risk of nosocomial transmission of tuberculosis (TB). To assess the risk of delayed management of TB, we analyzed the risk factors of prolonged delay in isolation of smear-positive TB patients in pulmonology/infectious diseases and other wards in a tertiary teaching hospital.MethodsWe enrolled smear-positive TB patients aged > 16 years with delayed respiratory isolation following hospitalization. Medical records were reviewed retrospectively. Time intervals between admission, order of sputum acid-fast staining, initiation of anti-tuberculous treatment and isolation were compared between pulmonology/infectious diseases wards (PIWs) and other wards. Risk factors were analyzed in patients with prolonged isolation delay of > 7 days in individual groups.ResultsIsolation was delayed in 191 (73.7%) of 259 hospitalized smear-positive TB patients. Median suspicion, treatment and isolation delays were 0, 3 and 4 days in PIWs and 1, 5 and 7 days in other wards. For patients admitted to non-PIWs, atypical chest radiographs, symptoms without dyspnea or not being admitted from the emergency department (ED) were risk factors for prolonged isolation delay exceeding 7 days. The only risk factor for delayed isolation in patients admitted to PIWs was age ≥ 70 years.ConclusionDelays in suspicion, treatment and isolation of TB patients were longer in non-PIWs. Clinicians should be alert to those admitted to non-PIWs with atypical chest radiographs, atypical symptoms, or not admitted from the ED

Structural and DNA-binding studies on the bovine antimicrobial peptide, indolicidin: evidence for multiple conformations involved in binding to membranes and DNA

Indolicidin, a l3-residue antimicrobial peptide-amide, which is unusually rich in tryptophan and proline, is isolated from the cytoplasmic granules of bovine neutrophils. In this study, the structures of indolicidin in 50% D(3)-trifluoroethanol and in the absence and presence of SDS and D(38)-dodecylphosphocholine were determined using NMR spectroscopy. Multiple conformations were found and were shown to be due to different combinations of contact between the two WPW motifs. Although indolicidin is bactericidal and able to permeabilize bacterial membranes, it does not lead to cell wall lysis, showing that there is more than one mechanism of antimicrobial action. The structure of indolicidin in aqueous solution was a globular and amphipathic conformation, differing from the wedge shape adopted in lipid micelles, and these two structures were predicted to have different functions. Indolicidin, which is known to inhibit DNA synthesis and induce filamentation of bacteria, was shown to bind DNA in gel retardation and fluorescence quenching experiments. Further investigations using surface plasmon resonance confirmed the DNA-binding ability and showed the sequence preference of indolicidin. Based on our biophysical studies and previous results, we present a diagram illustrating the DNA-binding mechanism of the antimicrobial action of indolicidin and explaining the roles of the peptide when interacting with lipid bilayers at different concentrations

Protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor type O (Ptpro) regulates cerebellar formation during zebrafish development through modulating Fgf signaling

Protein activities controlled by receptor protein tyrosine phosphatases (RPTPs) play comparably important roles in transducing cell surface signals into the cytoplasm by protein tyrosine kinases. Previous studies showed that several RPTPs are involved in neuronal generation, migration, and axon guidance in Drosophila, and the vertebrate hippocampus, retina, and developing limbs. However, whether the protein tyrosine phosphatase type O (ptpro), one kind of RPTP, participates in regulating vertebrate brain development is largely unknown. We isolated the zebrafish ptpro gene and found that its transcripts are primarily expressed in the embryonic and adult central nervous system. Depletion of zebrafish embryonic Ptpro by antisense morpholino oligonucleotide knockdown resulted in prominent defects in the forebrain and cerebellum, and the injected larvae died on the 4th day post-fertilization (dpf). We further investigated the function of ptpro in cerebellar development and found that the expression of ephrin-A5b (efnA5b), a Fgf signaling induced cerebellum patterning factor, was decreased while the expression of dusp6, a negative-feedback gene of Fgf signaling in the midbrain-hindbrain boundary region, was notably induced in ptpro morphants. Further analyses demonstrated that cerebellar defects of ptpro morphants were partially rescued by inhibiting Fgf signaling. Moreover, Ptpro physically interacted with the Fgf receptor 1a (Fgfr1a) and dephosphorylated Fgfr1a in a dose-dependant manner. Therefore, our findings demonstrate that Ptpro activity is required for patterning the zebrafish embryonic brain. Specifically, Ptpro regulates cerebellar formation during zebrafish development through modulating Fgf signaling. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00018-013-1259-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Transcriptomic analyses of regenerating adult feathers in chicken

Transcriptome Expression Data. Table of mapped reads to Galgal4 transcripts for all 15 data sets. FPKM (Fragments per kilobase of exon per million fragments mapped): normalized transcript abundance values for each gene in the indicated tissues. (CSV 1314 kb

Lobocrassins A–E: New Cembrane-Type Diterpenoids from the Soft Coral Lobophytum crassum

Five new cembrane-type diterpenoids, lobocrassins A–E (1–5), were isolated from the soft coral Lobophytum crassum. The structures of cembranes 1–5 were established by spectroscopic and chemical methods and by comparison of the spectral data with those of known cembrane analogues. Lobocrassin A (1) is the first cembranoid possessing an α-chloromethyl-α-hydroxy-γ-lactone functionality and is the first chlorinated cembranoid from soft corals belonging to the genus Lobophytum. Lobocrassins B (2) and C (3) were found to be the stereoisomers of the known cembranes, 14-deoxycrassin (6) and pseudoplexaurol (7), respectively. Lobocrassin B (2) exhibited modest cytotoxicity toward K562, CCRF-CEM, Molt4, and HepG2 tumor cells and displayed significant inhibitory effects on the generation of superoxide anion and the release of elastase by human neutrophils

Effects of Transapical Transcatheter Mitral Valve Implantation

Purpose: In this study, transapical transcatheter mitral valve-in-valve implantation (TAMVI) was compared with surgical redo mitral valve replacement (SRMVR) in terms of clinical outcomes.Methods: We retrospectively identified patients with degenerated mitral bioprosthesis or failed annuloplasty rings who underwent redo SRMVR or TAMVI at our medical center. Clinical outcomes were based on echocardiography results.Results: We retrospectively identified patients with symptomatic mitral bioprosthetic valve dysfunction (n = 58) and failed annuloplasty rings (n = 14) who underwent redo SRMVR (n = 36) or TAMVI (n = 36). The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Predicted Risk of Mortality scores were higher in the TAMVI group (median: 9.52) than in the SRMVR group (median: 5.59) (p-value = 0.02). TAMVI patients were more severe in New York Heart Association (p-value = 0.04). The total procedure time (skin to skin) and length of stay after procedures were significantly shorter in the TAMVI group, and no significant difference in mortality was noted after adjustment for confounding factors (p-value = 0.11). The overall mean mitral valve pressure gradient was lower in the TAMVI group than in the SRMVR group at 24 months (p < 0.01). Both groups presented a decrease in the severity of mitral and tricuspid regurgitation at 3–24 months.Conclusions: In conclusion, the statistical analysis is still not robust enough to make a claim that TAMVI is an appropriate alternative. The outcome of the patient appears only to be related to the patient's pre-operative STS score. Additional multi-center, longitudinal studies are warranted to adequately assess the effect of TAMVI