Precise Variational Calculation For The Doubly Excited State (2p^2)^3P^e of Helium

Highly precise variational calculations of non-relativistic energies of the (2p^2)^3P^e state of Helium atom are presented.We get an upper bound energy E=-0.71050015565678 a.u.,the lowest yet obtained.Comment: 5 pages, 1 tabl

The relevance of antral follicle count (AFC) as a marker of ovarian reserve in normal and infertile women in a tertiary care centre in Central India

Background: The objective of the present study was to establish the role of AFC as a marker of ovarian reserve in fertility-proven and in sub-fertile Indian women, and to establish the baseline cut-off AFC values for Indian women.Methods: This is an Observational Case-Control type of study. Test subjects (n=30, age range 20-35 years) were selected randomly from all the women coming to our Out-Patient Department with Primary Infertility. Healthy female volunteers (n=30, age range 20-35years) were recruited from the local population. Statistics: Student t test was applied to compare the mean Antral Follicle count between the case and control group. Pearson correlation test was applied to assess the correlation between age and AFC for case and control group.Results: The results of the study show that there is a significant difference between the number of antral follicles between fertile and infertile women (p < 0.001). The baseline cut-off for successful pregnancy was established as an AFC of 12. There exists negative correlation (r = -0.249) between age and AFC case group indicating as the age increases AFC decreases.Conclusions: The findings from this study help in strengthening the idea that AFC serves as a marker for ovarian reserve. Our observation indicates that the number of antral follicles is lower in the subfertile patients as compared to the fertile group (in all age groups), in view of the significantly lower median AFC in women of the former group (P < 0.001)

Atomic structure under external confinement: effect of plasma on the spin orbit splitting, relativistic mass correction and Darwin term for hydrogen-like ions

The effect of Debye and quantum plasma environment on the structural properties such as spin orbit splitting, relativistic mass correction and Darwin term for a few iso-electronic members of hydrogen viz. C5 +, O7 +, Ne9 +, Mg11 +, Si13 +, S15 +, Ar17 +, Ca19 + and Ti21 + has been analysed systematically for the first time for a range of coupling strengths of the plasma. The Debye plasma environment has been treated under a standard screened Coulomb potential (SCP) while the quantum plasma has been treated under an exponential cosine screened Coulomb potential (ECSCP). Estimation of the spin orbit splitting under SCP and ECSCP plasma is restricted to the lowest two dipole allowed states while for the other two properties, the ground state as well as the first two excited states have been chosen. Calculations have been extended to nuclear charges for which appreciable relativistic corrections are noted. In all cases calculations have been extended up to such screening parameters for which the respective excitation energies tend towards their stability limit determined by the ionisation potential at that screening parameter. Interesting behavior of the respective properties with respect to the plasma coupling strength has been noted

Spectroscopy of low lying transitions of He confined in a fullerene cage

Using time dependent coupled Hartree-Fock(TDCHF) theory, we estimate structural properties such as total energy, ionisation potential, static and dynamic polarizabilities, oscillator strengths and transition probabilities for the first three dipolar excitations 1s2:1Se → 1snp:1Po (n = 2,3,4) and quadrupolar excitations 1s2:1Se → 1snd:1De (n = 3,4,5) of a helium atom placed at the centre of a fullerene cage. We estimate these structural properties using the fullerene cage potential based on experimental findings, including both neutral and charged fullerene potentials. Systematics have been observed with respect to the nature of the charge on fullerene compared to neutral species. We highlight interesting behavior of the excited state wavefunctions for the central atom, leading to altered behavioral patterns of the relevant properties

Role of CD80, CD86, and CTLA4 on mouse CD4+TCD4^+ T lymphocytes in enhancing cell-cycle progression and survival after activation with PMA and ionomycin

Cell surface interactions between the T cell costimulatory receptors, CD28 and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-(CTLA4), with their cognate ligands, CD80 and CD86, on antigen-presenting cells play an important role in T cell activation. Although CD80 and CD86 are induced on T cells after activation, not much is known about their role in modulating T cell function. We show that CD80, CD86, and CTLA4 are induced on purified CD4 T cells after in vitro activation with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) and ionomycin,and they play an essential role for proliferation and survival. Blockade of CTLA4-CD80/CD86 interactions greatly reduces PMA and ionomycin-mediated mouse CD4 T cell activation. The three key features of this inhibition of activation are: First,late events in T cell activation (after 18 h) are affected; second, these cells do not undergo anergy; and third, CD4CD25 regulatory T cells are not responsible. Activation of T cells with PMA and ionomycin together with CTLA4-CD80/CD86 blockade results in decreased induction of CD25 and Bcl-XL, reduced interleukin (IL)-2, and enhanced transforming growth factor- (TGF-) production.Furthermore, extended CTLA4-CD80/CD86 blockade results in decreased cell-cycle progression and enhanced apoptosis in a large proportion of cells. This inhibition of T cell proliferation can be rescued completely with anti-CD28 or IL-2 and partially with TGF- antagonists. This study reveals a functional role for CD80, CD86,and CTLA4 on CD4 T lymphocytes and sheds light on the mechanisms by which these molecules enhance activation and survival with PMA and ionomycin. J. Leukoc. Biol. 72: 921-931; 2002

Development of a Simple Latex Agglutination Assay for Detection of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli (STEC) by Using Polyclonal Antibody against STEC

Rabbit antiserum raised against the whole-cell antigen of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) strain VT3 (stx(1)(+) stx(2)(+) eae(+)) was repeatedly adsorbed with heat-killed cells of different non-STEC strains and other enteric bacteria. Thus, the antiserum obtained was designated VT3 antiserum. VT3 antiserum reacted with intimin type γ. We assessed the reactivity of VT3 antiserum to whole-cell lysates of 87 strains of E. coli and other enteric bacteria by immunoblotting. The antiserum recognized the 97-kDa protein in whole-cell lysate from strain VT3, and 36 (83.7%) of the 43 STEC strains were positive for the STEC antigen. None of the non-STEC strains or strains of other species examined tested positive by immunoblotting. Based on this result, we developed a latex agglutination assay for the detection of STEC strains. Thirty-five (81.4%) of the 43 STEC strains tested positive for the STEC antigen by the latex agglutination assay. One (3.3%) of the 30 non-STEC strains and none of the strains of the other enteric bacteria included in this study tested positive by the latex agglutination assay. The corresponding specificity of the latex agglutination assay was approximately 98%. Results of this study showed the production of STEC antiserum and the generation of a simple, cost-effective, sensitive, and specific latex agglutination assay for establishing an etiological diagnosis of STEC