OPTIMIZATION OF SIMULATION MODEL PARAMETERS FOR SOLIDIFICATION OF METALS WITH USE OF AGENT-BASED EVOLUTIONARY ALGORITHM

The finite elements method (FEM) is currently widely used for simulation of thermal processes.However, one of still unresolved problems remains proper selection of mathematicalmodel parameters for these processes. As far as modelling of cooling casts in forms is concerned,particular difficulties appear while estimating values of numerous coefficients suchas: heat transport coefficient between metal and form, specific heat, metal and form heatconduction coefficient, metal and form density. Coefficients mentioned above depend not onlyon materials properties but also on temperature. In the paper the idea of optimalizationof simulation method parameters based on adaptive adjustment of curve representing simulationresult and result obtained in physical experiment is presented along with the ideaof evolutionary and agent-based evolutionary optimization system designed to conduct suchoptimizations. Preliminary results obtained with use of ABAQUS system available in ACKCYFRONET and software developed at AGH-UST conclude the paper

ABORDAGEM FITOQUÍMICA E DAS ATIVIDADES BIOLÓGICAS DA ESPÉCIE VEGETAL Solidago microglossa D.C

  Desde o ano de 2006, o governo federal tem desenvolvido projetos para incentivar a pesquisa e o desenvolvimento do setor de plantas medicinais e fitoterápicos. Entre eles, a Portaria Ministerial MS/GM no  971,  de 03 de maio de 2006, que aprova a Política Nacional de Práticas Integrativas e Complementares (PNPIC) no Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS) e o Decreto no 5.813, de 22 de junho de 2006, que aprova a Política nacional de Plantas Medicinais e Fitoterápicos (PNPMF) e dá outras providências. Essas políticas preconizam o incentivo à pesquisa e o desenvolvimento com relação ao uso de plantas medicinais e fitoterápicos, priorizando a biodiversidade do país (CARVALHO, A. C B,2008). Além disso, estimulam a adoção da Fitoterapia nos programas de saúde pública, com a inclusão de alguns fitoterápicos na relação nacional de medicamentos (RENAME).  Em fevereiro de 2009, o governo lança mais uma estratégia, com a publicação de uma lista constituídas de 71 espécies vegetais nativas com potencial de avançar nas etapas da cadeia produtiva e de gerar produtos de interesse ao SUS, a RENISUS. As plantas medicinais presentes na lista supracitada, já são utilizadas pela população pelo conhecimento popular e/ou tradicional, entretanto, para algumas ainda são necessários estudos científicos comprovando sua segurança e eficácia.  A divulgação desta lista tem, portanto, a finalidade de orientar estudos e pesquisas científicas, de subsidiar o desenvolvimento e a inovação na área de plantas medicinais e fitoterápicos. Entre as plantas medicinais integrantes da RENISUS, destacamos a espécie Solidago microglossa D.C, a qual é uma planta nativa da parte meridional da América do Sul, incluindo o sul e sudeste brasileiro. Popularmente é conhecida como arnica, arnica brasileira, erva-lanceta, arnica silvestre, espiga de ouro, lanceta, macela miúda, marcela miúda, rabo de rojão, sapé macho. E possui como sinonímio botânico Solidago chilensis Meyen, Solidago marginella DC; Solidago nitidula Martius; Solidago odora Hook ET Arn; Solidago polyglossa DC; Solidago vulneraria Martius , Solidago linearifolia DC (OLIVEIRA, AKISUE, AKISUE, 1991; LORENZI, MATOS,2000). Este artigo tem como finalidade apresentar uma revisão sobre os estudos científicos já realizados com a espécie vegetal Solidago microglossa D.C

A IMPORTÂNCIA DO APROVEITAMENTO DOS RESÍDUOS INDUSTRIAIS DA SEMENTE DE Citrus

Os resíduos descartados das indústrias de alimentos poderiam ter uma finalidade benéfica ao homem e ao meio ambiente. Algumas frutas que possuem sementes são processadas para fabricação de alimentos e posteriormente descartadas sendo que poderiam ser utilizadas para minimizar o seu desperdício, Além da possibilidade de ter alto valor agregado quando processados e transformados em subprodutos como óleos vegetais (KOBORI; JORGE, 2005)

Perfil glicêmico e lipídico em meninos de diferentes classes sociais

Estudos sugerem que o nível socioeconômico (NSE) exerce influência no distúrbio metabólico, desta forma o presente estudo visou verificar as diferenças do perfil glicêmico e lipídico em meninos de diferentes classes sociais da cidade de Curitiba, Paraná. A amostra constituiu-se de 123 meninos (14,0±2,2 anos) sendo avaliado o perfil antropométrico, NSE, perfil glicêmico e lipídico. A análise estatística foi descritiva e para verificar as diferenças entre os níveis foi utilizado a ANOVA one-way com post hoc de Bonferroni com p< 0,05. Meninos de médio e alto NSE apresentaram maiores valores médios de glicemia em jejum, triglicerídeos (TG) e LDL-c do que indivíduos de baixo NSE (

Cutoff for body mass index in adolescents: comparison with national and international reference standards

OBJETIVO: elaborar uma tabela percentílica para o índice de massa corporal (IMC) para adolescentes na faixa etária de 10 a 14 anos da cidade de Curitiba, Paraná, e comparar os valores encontrados para o sobrepeso (percentil 85) e obesidade (percentil 95) com referências de IMC nacional, regional e internacional. MÉTODO: estudo longitudinal misto com 5231 avaliações, 2471 em meninos e 2760 em meninas, idades entre 10 e 14 anos. Esse número foi obtido a partir de avaliações semestrais realizadas entre os anos de 1998 a 2002, gerando 4321 observações (estudo longitudinal), mais a avaliação de 910 indivíduos no ano de 2006 (estudo transversal). O IMC foi calculado pela razão entre a massa corporal (Kg) dividida pela estatura (m) ao quadrado. Foram elaboradas tabelas de frequência baseadas na distribuição percentílica. Para identificar as diferenças nos pontos de corte para sobrepeso e obesidade com os estudos nacionais de Cintra e de Conde e Monteiro e com o estudo internacional de Cole foi utilizado teste binomial não paramétrico. RESULTADOS: comparando com as referências, os jovens de Curitiba seriam superestimados com sobrepeso se utilizadas a referência de Conde e a de Cole e subestimados na referência regional de Cintra. As mesmas tendências foram observadas com relação ao percentil 95 (obesidade), porém não para todas as faixas etárias. CONCLUSÃO: observamos diferenças nos valores de IMC sugeridos como pontos de corte para sobrepeso e obesidade em relação às referências nacionais e internacionais reforçando a necessidade de utilização de referências específicas para cada população.OBJECTIVE: to develop a scale percentile for body mass index (BMI) for adolescents aged 10 to 14 years from the city of Curitiba, Paraná, and compare the values found for overweight (85th percentile) and obesity (95th percentile) with references to national and international BMI. METHOD: mixed longitudinal study with 5231 evaluation, 2471 in boys and girls in 2760, aged 10 and 14 years. This number was obtained from semester evaluations conducted between the years 1998 to 2002, generating 4321 observations (longitudinal study), further evaluation of 910 individuals in 2006 (cross-sectional study). BMI was calculated as the ratio of body mass (kg) divided by height (m) squared. Frequency tables were prepared based on the percentile distribution. To identify differences in cut-off points for overweight and obesity with the national study of Cintra, and Conde and with the international study of Cole non-parametric binomial test was used. RESULTS: compared with the references, the young people of Curitiba were overestimated overweight if used for the reference of Conde and Cole and underestimated in the regional reference Cintra. The same trends were observed with respect to the 95th percentile (obesity), but not for all ages. CONCLUSION: we observed differences in the values of BMI suggested as cut-off points for overweight and obesity in relation to national and international references emphasizing the need to use specific references for each population

One-step immunopurification and lectinochemical characterization of the Duffy atypical chemokine receptor from human erythrocytes

Duffy antigen/receptor for chemokines (DARC) is a glycosylated seven-transmembrane protein acting as a blood group antigen, a chemokine binding protein and a receptor for Plasmodium vivax malaria parasite. It is present on erythrocytes and endothelial cells of postcapillary venules. The N-terminal extracellular domain of the Duffy glycoprotein carries Fya/Fyb blood group antigens and Fy6 linear epitope recognized by monoclonal antibodies. Previously, we have shown that recombinant Duffy protein expressed in K562 cells has three N-linked oligosaccharide chains, which are mainly of complex-type. Here we report a one-step purification method of Duffy protein from human erythrocytes. DARC was extracted from erythrocyte membranes in the presence of 1% n-dodecyl-β-D-maltoside (DDM) and 0.05% cholesteryl hemisuccinate (CHS) and purified by affinity chromatography using immobilized anti-Fy6 2C3 mouse monoclonal antibody. Duffy glycoprotein was eluted from the column with synthetic DFEDVWN peptide containing epitope for 2C3 monoclonal antibody. In this single-step immunoaffinity purification method we obtained highly purified DARC, which migrates in SDS-polyacrylamide gel as a major diffuse band corresponding to a molecular mass of 40–47 kDa. In ELISA purified Duffy glycoprotein binds anti-Duffy antibodies recognizing epitopes located on distinct regions of the molecule. Results of circular dichroism measurement indicate that purified DARC has a high content of α-helical secondary structure typical for chemokine receptors. Analysis of DARC glycans performed by means of lectin blotting and glycosidase digestion suggests that native Duffy N-glycans are mostly triantennary complex-type, terminated with α2-3- and α2-6-linked sialic acid residues with bisecting GlcNAc and α1-6-linked fucose at the core

Incisional hernia following colorectal cancer surgery according to suture technique: Hughes Abdominal Repair Randomized Trial (HART).

BACKGROUND: Incisional hernias cause morbidity and may require further surgery. HART (Hughes Abdominal Repair Trial) assessed the effect of an alternative suture method on the incidence of incisional hernia following colorectal cancer surgery. METHODS: A pragmatic multicentre single-blind RCT allocated patients undergoing midline incision for colorectal cancer to either Hughes closure (double far-near-near-far sutures of 1 nylon suture at 2-cm intervals along the fascia combined with conventional mass closure) or the surgeon's standard closure. The primary outcome was the incidence of incisional hernia at 1 year assessed by clinical examination. An intention-to-treat analysis was performed. RESULTS: Between August 2014 and February 2018, 802 patients were randomized to either Hughes closure (401) or the standard mass closure group (401). At 1 year after surgery, 672 patients (83.7 per cent) were included in the primary outcome analysis; 50 of 339 patients (14.8 per cent) in the Hughes group and 57 of 333 (17.1 per cent) in the standard closure group had incisional hernia (OR 0.84, 95 per cent c.i. 0.55 to 1.27; P = 0.402). At 2 years, 78 patients (28.7 per cent) in the Hughes repair group and 84 (31.8 per cent) in the standard closure group had incisional hernia (OR 0.86, 0.59 to 1.25; P = 0.429). Adverse events were similar in the two groups, apart from the rate of surgical-site infection, which was higher in the Hughes group (13.2 versus 7.7 per cent; OR 1.82, 1.14 to 2.91; P = 0.011). CONCLUSION: The incidence of incisional hernia after colorectal cancer surgery is high. There was no statistical difference in incidence between Hughes closure and mass closure at 1 or 2 years. REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN25616490 (http://www.controlled-trials.com)

Vivax malaria in Mauritania includes infection of a Duffy-negative individual

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Duffy blood group polymorphisms are important in areas where <it>Plasmodium vivax </it>is present because this surface antigen is thought to act as a key receptor for this parasite. In the present study, Duffy blood group genotyping was performed in febrile uninfected and <it>P. vivax</it>-infected patients living in the city of Nouakchott, Mauritania.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p><it>Plasmodium vivax </it>was identified by real-time PCR. The Duffy blood group genotypes were determined by standard PCR followed by sequencing of the promoter region and exon 2 of the Duffy gene in 277 febrile individuals. Fisher's exact test was performed in order to assess the significance of variables.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In the Moorish population, a high frequency of the <it>FYB^ES/FYB^ES</it>genotype was observed in uninfected individuals (27.8%), whereas no <it>P. vivax</it>-infected patient had this genotype. This was followed by a high level of <it>FYA/FYB</it>, <it>FYB/FYB</it>, <it>FYB/FYB^ES</it>and <it>FYA/FYB^ES</it>genotype frequencies, both in the <it>P. vivax</it>-infected and uninfected patients. In other ethnic groups (Poular, Soninke, Wolof), only the <it>FYB^ES/FYB^ES</it>genotype was found in uninfected patients, whereas the <it>FYA/FYB^ES</it>genotype was observed in two <it>P. vivax</it>-infected patients. In addition, one patient belonging to the Wolof ethnic group presented the <it>FYB^ES/FYB^ES</it>genotype and was infected by <it>P. vivax</it>.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study presents the Duffy blood group polymorphisms in Nouakchott City and demonstrates that in Mauritania, <it>P. vivax </it>is able to infect Duffy-negative patients. Further studies are necessary to identify the process that enables this Duffy-independent <it>P. vivax </it>invasion of human red blood cells.</p