494 research outputs found
Effect of Aqueous Ozone on the NF-ÎșB System
Ozone has been proposed as an alternative oral antiseptic in dentistry, due to its antimicrobial power reported for gaseous and aqueous forms, the latter showing a high biocompatibility with mammalian cells. New therapeutic strategies for the treatment of periodontal disease and apical periodontitis should consider not only antibacterial effects, but also their influence on the host immune response. Therefore, our aim was to investigate the effect of aqueous ozone on the NF-ÎșB system, a paradigm for inflammationassociated signaling/transcription. We showed that NF-ÎșB activity in oral cells stimulated with TNF, and in periodontal ligament tissue from root surfaces of periodontally damaged teeth, was inhibited following incubation with ozonized medium. Under this treatment, IÎșBalpah proteolysis, cytokine expression, and ÎșB-dependent transcription were prevented. Specific ozonized amino acids were shown to represent major inhibitory components of ozonized medium. In summary, our study establishes a condition under which aqueous ozone exerts inhibitory effects on the NF-ÎșB system, suggesting that it has an antiinflammatory capacity
Towards direct simulations of counterflow flames with consistent differential-algebraic boundary conditions
A new approach for the formulation of boundary conditions for the counterflow configuration is presented. Upon discretization of the steady-state Navier-Stokes equations at the inflow boundaries, numerically algebraic equations are imposed as boundary conditions, while upon discretization of the unsteady Navier-Stokes equations at the outflow, differential boundaries result. It is demonstrated that the resulting numerical differential-algebraic boundary conditions are suitable to account for the multi-directional character of the flow at the boundaries of the counterflow configuration
The added value of a European Reference Network on rare and complex connective tissue and musculoskeletal diseases : insights after the first 5 years of the ERN ReCONNET
Funding Information: I. Bulina has received honoraria from Abbvie, Boehringer Ingelheim, Janssen and Pfizer. N. Costedoat-Chalumeau has received grants from UCB for a clinical research study. M. Matucci-Ce rinic has received grants from Janssen and MSD, and he is a member of speak ers bureau for Janssen, Sandoz, Bio gen, BI, Lilly and MSD. A. Meyer re ceived honoraria (<10,000 euros) from Lilly, LFB, Pfizer, Boehringer, Sanofi and research grants/support from CSL Behring, LFB, Sanofi, Fresenius Kabi and BMS. L. Mouthon received a grant from LFB. J.M. van Laar has received honoraria from Abbvie, Boehringer In-gelheim, Celltrion, Galapagos, Magenta, Roche, and grants from Astra Zeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Roche and Thermofischer. J.K. de Vries-Bouwstra received consulting fees from Abbvie, Janssen and Boehringer Ingelheim, and research grants from Roche, Galapagos and Janssen. The other authors have declared no competing interests. Publisher Copyright: © Copyright CliniCal and ExpErimEntal rhEumatology 2022.In order to address the main challenges related to the rare diseases (RDs) the European Commission launched the European Reference Networks (ERNs), virtual networks involving healthcare providers (HCPs) across Europe. The mission of the ERNs is to tackle low prevalence and RDs that require highly specialised treatment and a concentration of knowledge and resources. In fact, ERNs offer the potential to give patients and healthcare professionals across the EU access to the best expertise and timely exchange of lifesaving knowledge, trying to make the knowledge travelling more than patients. For this reason, ERNs were established as concrete European infrastructures, and this is particularly crucial in the framework of rare and complex diseases in which no country alone has the whole knowledge and capacity to treat all types of patients. It has been five years since their kick-off launch in Vilnius in 2017. The 24 ERNs have been intensively working on different transversal areas, including patient management, education, clinical practice guidelines, patients' care pathways and many other fundamental topics. The present work is therefore aimed not only at reporting a summary of the main activities and milestones reached so far, but also at celebrating the first 5 years of the ERN on Rare and Complex Connective Tissue and Musculo-skeletal Diseases (ReCONNET), in which the members of the network built together one of the 24 infrastructures that are hopefully going to change the scenario of rare diseases across the EU.publishersversionPeer reviewe
An adaptive stabilized finite element method for the generalized Stokes problem
In this work we present an adaptive strategy (based on an a posteriori error estimator) for a stabilized finite element method for the Stokes problem, with and without a reaction term. The hierarchical type estimator is based on the solution of local problems posed on appropriate finite dimensional spaces of bubble-like functions. An equivalence result between the norm of the finite element error and the estimator is given, where the dependence of the constants on the physics of the problem is explicited. Several numerical results confirming both the theoretical results and the good performance of the estimator are given
Multidomain Spectral Method for the Helically Reduced Wave Equation
We consider the 2+1 and 3+1 scalar wave equations reduced via a helical
Killing field, respectively referred to as the 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional
helically reduced wave equation (HRWE). The HRWE serves as the fundamental
model for the mixed-type PDE arising in the periodic standing wave (PSW)
approximation to binary inspiral. We present a method for solving the equation
based on domain decomposition and spectral approximation. Beyond describing
such a numerical method for solving strictly linear HRWE, we also present
results for a nonlinear scalar model of binary inspiral. The PSW approximation
has already been theoretically and numerically studied in the context of the
post-Minkowskian gravitational field, with numerical simulations carried out
via the "eigenspectral method." Despite its name, the eigenspectral technique
does feature a finite-difference component, and is lower-order accurate. We
intend to apply the numerical method described here to the theoretically
well-developed post-Minkowski PSW formalism with the twin goals of spectral
accuracy and the coordinate flexibility afforded by global spectral
interpolation.Comment: 57 pages, 11 figures, uses elsart.cls. Final version includes
revisions based on referee reports and has two extra figure
Ring closing reaction in diarylethene captured by femtosecond electron crystallography
The photoinduced ring-closing reaction in diarylethene, which serves as a model system for understanding reactive crossings through conical intersections, was directly observed with atomic resolution using femtosecond electron diffraction. Complementary ab initio calculations were also performed. Immediately following photoexcitation, subpicosecond structural changes associated with the formation of an open-ring excited-state intermediate were resolved. The key motion is the rotation of the thiophene rings, which significantly decreases the distance between the reactive carbon atoms prior to ring closing. Subsequently, on the few picosecond time scale, localized torsional motions of the carbon atoms lead to the formation of the closed-ring photoproduct. These direct observations of the molecular motions driving an organic chemical reaction were only made possible through the development of an ultrabright electron source to capture the atomic motions within the limited number of sampling frames and the low data acquisition rate dictated by the intrinsically poor thermal conductivity and limited photoreversibility of organic materials
Initial experiments to assess short-term survival of discarded plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) caught in trammel nets during winter season
European plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) is a key species in commercial fisheries in the North Sea, Skagerrak,
Kattegat, and Baltic Sea. The reformed European Union Common Fisheries Policy includes the possibility of
exemptions from the landing obligation for âspecies for which scientific evidence demonstrates high survival
ratesâ. Discard survival from set-net fisheries is poorly studied. Trials were conducted on two commercial fishing
vessels over seven trips from November to February 2017â2018 in the Baltic Sea. The nylon trammel nets had a
nominal bar size for the inner/outer wall of 75/350 mm and 85/400 mm. Soaking time was 23â47 h, water depth
7â18 m, and deck temperature was â 0.1â6.0 âŠC. Following commercial practice, the trammel nets were hauled
back onto the vessel, after which netting and fish passed through a net hauler onto a steel sorting table where the
entire fish catch were manually untangled by the fishers and plaice collected by scientists. We used a storage
system for housing the captured fish inside fishing harbours during observations. Catch-damage-index (CDI) and
Reflex Action Mortality Predictor (RAMP) scores were used to assess fish condition immediately after capture and
at the end of observation periods. All plaice below 40 cm were sampled with a total number of 118 individuals
from 13 fleets (several nets joined together). The fish were assessed for short-term survival for 4â10 days with
full survival (100%). The majority of fish exhibited no reflex impairments. Minor bruises, fraying, and net marks
were frequently observed on captured fish. The overall condition of the fish did not change during observation
periods
Boosting care and knowledge about hereditary cancer : European Reference Network on Genetic Tumour Risk Syndromes
Approximately 27-36million patients in Europe have one of the similar to 5.000-8.000 known rare diseases. These patients often do not receive the care they need or they have a substantial delay from diagnosis to treatment. In March 2017, twenty-four European Reference Networks (ERNs) were launched with the aim to improve the care for these patients through cross border healthcare, in a way that the medical knowledge and expertise travels across the borders, rather than the patients. It is expected that through the ERNs, European patients with a rare disease get access to expert care more often and more quickly, and that research and guideline development will be accelerated resulting in improved diagnostics and therapies. The ERN on Genetic Tumour Risk Syndromes (ERN GENTURIS) aims to improve the identification, genetic diagnostics, prevention of cancer, and treatment of European patients with a genetic predisposition for cancer. The ERN GENTURIS focuses on syndromes such as hereditary breast cancer, hereditary colorectal cancer and polyposis, neurofibromatosis and more rare syndromes e.g. PTEN Hamartoma Tumour Syndrome, Li Fraumeni Syndrome and hereditary diffuse gastric cancer
Edge-based nonlinear diffusion for finite element approximations of convectionâdiffusion equations and its relation to algebraic flux-correction schemes
The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00211-016-0808-zFor the case of approximation of convectionâdiffusion equations using piecewise affine continuous finite elements a new edge-based nonlinear diffusion operator is proposed that makes the scheme satisfy a discrete maximum principle. The diffusion operator is shown to be Lipschitz continuous and linearity preserving. Using these properties we provide a full stability and error analysis, which, in the diffusion dominated regime, shows existence, uniqueness and optimal convergence. Then the algebraic flux correction method is recalled and we show that the present method can be interpreted as an algebraic flux correction method for a particular definition of the flux limiters. The performance of the method is illustrated on some numerical test cases in two space dimensions
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