Parametric Model Order Reduction using pyMOR

pyMOR is a free software library for model order reduction that includes both reduced basis and system-theoretic methods. All methods are implemented in terms of abstract vector and operator interfaces, which allows direct integration of pyMOR's algorithms with a wide array of external PDE solvers. In this contribution, we give a brief overview of the available methods and experimentally compare them for the parametric instationary thermal-block benchmark defined in arXiv:2003.00846.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure

Biotypes of Candida albicans isolated from clinical material of hospitalized patients

Metodom biotipizacije po Oddsu i Abbottu tipizirano je 910 izolata vrste Candida albicans iz uzoraka materijala različitih organskih sustava 360 hospitaliziranih bolesnika. Tipizacijom je dobiveno 79 biotipova, a 14 najučestalijih (355, 305, 345, 155, 357, 105, 315, 144, 157, 115, 057, 257, 300 i 244) činilo je 89,3 % svih biotipova ove vrste. Najučestaliji biotip bio je 355 i činio je 20,9 % svih biotipova vrste C. albicans iz svih uzoraka. Ovaj biotip bio je zastupljen s 36,2 % u izolatima iz kardiovaskularnog sustava, s 21,4 % u izolatima iz dišnog sustava, s 20,1 % u izolatima iz probavnog sustava, s 19,5 % u izolatima iz obrisaka kože, s 19,4 % u izolatima iz središnjeg živčanog sustava i sa 17,1 % u izolatima iz spolnomokraćnog sustava. Ova metoda biotipizacije pogodna je za epidemiološka istraživanja zastupljenosti biotipova vrste C. albicans, jer omogućava ispitivanje velikog broja izolata, a ne iziskuje velike materijalne troškove i skupu opremu.Using the Odds and Abbott method, 910 isolates of Candida albicans were typed. They were isolated from samples of different systems in 360 hospitalized patients. Typing revealed 79 biotypes where 14 (355, 305, 345, 155, 357, 105, 315, 144, 157, 115, 057, 257, 300 i 244) of them were the most common, accounted for 89.3 % of all biotypes. The most common biotype, 355, made up 20.9 % of all biotypes of this species isolated from all samples. It was present in 36.2 % of isolates from the cardiovascular system, 21.4 % of isolates from the respiratory system, 20.1 % of isolates from the gastrointestinal system, 19.5 % of isolates from the skin, 19.4 % of isolates from the central nervous system, and in 17.1 % of isolates from the urogenital system. This method is suitable for epidemiological research of the presence of C. albicans biotypes because it enables the testing of a large number of isolates with very low cost and reasonably simple equipment

The role of immune system in control of the influenza pandemic

Virusi gripe su jednolončani RNA virusi koji pripadaju porodici Orthomyxoviridae. Postoje 3 tipa virusa: A, B i C, koji se razlikuju po virulenciji i genomskoj strukturi. Mutacijom gena dvaju površinskih proteina virusa influence, hemaglutinina i neuraminidaze, nastaju antigenske promjene na površini virusne čestice. Zahvaljujući tim promjenama, zaštitna uloga imunosustava može postati neadekvatna ako se virus influence izmijeni u tolikoj mjeri da sadrži antigene na koje osoba nema razvijenu niti humoralnu niti staničnu imunost. Težina kliničke slike u gripi ovisit će tada o sposobnosti virusa influence da zaobiđe ili inhibira različite imunološke mehanizme kojima je cilj eliminacija virusa iz organizma. Upravo sposobnost promjene antigenskih determinanti otežava razvoj cjepiva dovoljno sličnom epidemijskom odnosno pandemijskom soju virusa gripe. U ovom radu raspravit će se uloga imunološkog sustava u obrani organizma od virusa influence s posebnim osvrtom na dosadašnje spoznaje o imunološkoj reakciji u ljudi inficiranih mogućim pandemijskim virusom H5N1.Influenza virus is a single-stranded RNA virus of Orthomyxoviridae family. The 3 types of influenza virus, A, B and C, differ in virulence and genomic structure. Frequent mutations in viral surface glycoproteins, hemagglutinin and neuraminidase, result in the changes of antigenic determinants. As a consequence, protective role of immune system becomes inadequate if the changes of influenza virus are significant and accompanied with lack of existing humoral and cellular immunity in an infected individual. The severity of clinical presentation will depend on the capacity of influenza virus to evade or to inhibit different immunologic mechanism, which aim to eliminate the virus from the body. The frequent changes of influenza antigens also hamper the timely development of vaccine as a most important measure to protect from potential influenza epidemics or pandemics. In this paper we discuss the role of immune system in protection from influenza infection with special emphasis on the known findings of immune response in H5N1-infected individuals

Perforin expression in cytotoxic Tcells of infants with respiratory syncytial virus bronchiolitis

Perforin je protein smješten u sekretornim granulama citotoksičkih T-limfocita. Zajedno s ostalim komponentama granula nužan je za lizu stanica organizma inficiranih unutarstaničnim patogenima. Ispitali smo izražaj perforina u citotoksičkim T-limfocitima dojenčadi s bronhiolitisom uzrokovanim respiracijskim sincicijskim virusom (RSV). Uzorci periferne krvi prikupljeni su za vrijeme primarne infekcije i rekonvalescencije u inficirane dojenčadi (n=12) i od kontrolne skupine zdrave djece koja su odgovarala po dobi i spolu. Analiza prikupljenih podataka pokazala je približno jednak postotak citotoksičkih T-limfocita koji izražavaju perforin u sve tri skupine ispitanika. Međutim, pronađene su razlike u razini izražaja perforina po pojedinom limfocitu između rekonvalescentne djece i zdravih kontrola, što upućuje na trajniji poremećaj stanične imunosti nakon prestanka infekcije RSV-om.Perforin is a protein located in secretory granules of cytotoxic T cells. Together with other granules\u27 proteins perforin is necessary for lysis of host\u27s cells infected with intracellular pathogens. We investigated peforin expression in cytotoxic T cells of infants with bronchiolitis caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The peripheral blood samples were obtained from hospitalized infants during primary infection and after the resolution of the disease (n=12), and from the control group of age- and gender-matched healthy children. Analysis of the data revealed that the percentage of perforin-expressing cytotoxic T cells was similar in all three groups of tested subjects. However, there were differences in perforin expression levels in cytotoxic T cells between once-infected infants and their healthy controls. This indicates an ongoing disturbed cellular immune response even after the resolution of RSV infection

Seroprevalence of Taenia solium infections in Croatian patients presenting with epilepsy

Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders, while neurocysticercosis caused by Taenia solium infection of the central nervous system currently represents the leading cause of secondary epilepsy in Central and South America, East and South Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa. As a result of increased migration from these endemic regions, neurocysticercosis and subsequent epilepsy are becoming a growing public health problem in developed countries as well. In order to determine the prevalence of T. solium infection in patients with epilepsy in Croatia, a retrospective serological study was conducted. A total of 770 serum samples were tested for the presence of T. solium IgG antibodies using a commercial qualitative enzyme immunoassay. The Western blot technique was used as a confirmatory test for the diagnosis. The overall seroprevalence rate of T. solium infection in patients with clinically proven epilepsy was 1.5%. Although the results have shown that infection with this tapeworm is rare in Croatia, this study hopes to increase awareness about the importance of preventive measures and benefits of accurate and timely diagnosis. Intervention measures for infection control are crucial, namely sanitation improvement, control of domestic pig-breeding, detailed meat inspection, detection and treatment of tapeworm carriers, hand washing and health education