283 research outputs found
Are matrix metalloproteinases the missing link?
none3openMANNELLO F; TONTI G.A.; PAPA SMannello, Ferdinando; Tonti, GAETANA ANNA MARIA; Papa, Stefan
DNA quantification to assess Zymoseptoria tritici on a susceptible cultivar of durum wheat to establish the best timing for fungicide application in an italian environment
Zymoseptoria tritici, a globally distributed pathogen, is responsible of Septoria tritici blotch (STB), one of the most damaging wheat diseases. In Italy the incidence of STB has increased during the past few years. The presence of Z. tritici on flag leaves of susceptible durum wheat plants, cultivar San Carlo, after a single artificial inoculation with two inoculum concentrations at different vegetative stages has been evaluated in the plain of Bologna (North of Italy), in a two year field study (2012–2013). The pathogen presence was also assessed in natural infection conditions after a fungicide application in the second year (2013). The results obtained, by visual examination (Incidence, Disease Severity) and DNA quantification by Real time PCR, demonstrated that BBCH 39 (flag leaf stage) is the most susceptible vegetative stage, independently of inoculum concentration and climatic conditions. A good correlation between Disease Severity and DNA quantity was observed in either sampling methods, entire flag leaves and flag leaf discs. Thereafter the most suitable period to obtain the best crop protection with only one fungicide treatment is the flag leaf stage
Extending Bauer's corollary to fractional derivatives
We comment on the method of Dreisigmeyer and Young [D. W. Dreisigmeyer and P.
M. Young, J. Phys. A \textbf{36}, 8297, (2003)] to model nonconservative
systems with fractional derivatives. It was previously hoped that using
fractional derivatives in an action would allow us to derive a single retarded
equation of motion using a variational principle. It is proven that, under
certain reasonable assumptions, the method of Dreisigmeyer and Young fails.Comment: Accepted Journal of Physics A at www.iop.org/EJ/journal/JPhys
Lagrangian multiform structure for the lattice Gel'fand-Dikii hierarchy
The lattice Gel'fand-Dikii hierarchy was introduced by Nijhoff, Papageorgiou,
Capel and Quispel in 1992 as the family of partial difference equations
generalizing to higher rank the lattice Korteweg-de Vries systems, and includes
in particular the lattice Boussinesq system. We present a Lagrangian for the
generic member of the lattice Gel'fand-Dikii hierarchy, and show that it can be
considered as a Lagrangian 2-form when embedded in a higher dimensional
lattice, obeying a closure relation. Thus the multiform structure proposed in
arXiv:0903.4086v2 [nlin.SI] is extended to a multi-component system.Comment: 12 page
Intraventricular flow patterns during right ventricular apical pacing
Objectives To assess differences in blood flow
momentum (BFM) and kinetic energy (KE) dissipation in
a model of cardiac dyssynchrony induced by electrical
right ventricular apical (RVA) stimulation compared with
spontaneous sinus rhythm.
Methods We cross-sectionally enrolled 12 consecutive
patients (mean age 74\ub18 years, 60% male, mean left
ventricular ejection fraction 58%\ub16 %), within 48 hours
from pacemaker (PMK) implantation. Inclusion criteria
were: age>18 years, no PMK-dependency, sinus rhythm
with a spontaneous narrow QRS at the ECG, preserved
ejection fraction (>50%) and a low percentage of PMKstimulation (<20%). All the participants underwent a
complete echocardiographic evaluation, including left
ventricular strain analysis and particle image velocimetry.
Results Compared with sinus rhythm, BFM shifted from
27\ub13.3 to 34\ub17.6\ub0 (p=0.016), while RVA-pacing was
characterised by a 35% of increment in KE dissipation,
during diastole (p=0.043) and 32% during systole
(p=0.016). In the same conditions, left ventricle global
longitudinal strain (LV GLS) significantly decreased from
17\ub13.3 to 11%\ub12.8% (p=0.004) during RVA-stimulation.
At the multivariable analysis, BFM and diastolic KE
dissipation were significantly associated with LV GLS
deterioration (Beta Coeff.=0.54, 95% CI 0.07 to 1.00,
p=0.034 and Beta Coeff.=0.29, 95% CI 0.02 to 0.57,
p=0.049, respectively).
Conclusions In RVA-stimulation, BFM impairment and
KE dissipation were found to be significantly associated
with LV GLS deterioration, when controlling for potential
confounders. Such changes may favour the onset of
cardiac remodelling and sustain heart failure
Using Electronic Institutions to secure Grid environments
Abstract. As the technical infrastructure to support Grid environments matures, attention must be focused on integrating such technical infrastructure with technologies to support more dynamic access to services, and ensuring that such access is appropriately monitored and secured. Such capabilities will be key in providing a safe environment that allow the creation of virtual organisations at run time. This paper addresses this issue by analysing how work from within the field of Electronic Institutions (EIs) can be employed to provide security support for Grid environments, and introduces the notion of a Semantic Firewall (SFW) responsible for mediating interactions with protected services given a set of access policies. An overarching guideline is that such integration should be pragmatic, taking into account the real-life lessons learned whilst developing, deploying and using the GRIA infrastructure for Grid environments
Misalignment of hemodynamic forces in the left ventricle is associated with adverse remodeling following STEMI
Abstract
Funding Acknowledgements
Type of funding sources: None.
Background
Infarct size (IS), area at risk (AAR) and microvascular obstruction (MVO) are well known predictors of adverse remodeling (aLVr) following acute myocardial infarction, while the pathogenic role of left ventricular (LV) hemodynamic forces (HDFs) is still unknown. Recent evidence suggests the role of HDFs in negative remodeling after pathogenic events.
Purpose
To identify LV HDFs patterns associated with aLVr in reperfused ST-segment elevation MI (STEMI) patients.
Methods
Forty-nine acute STEMI patients underwent CMR at 1 week (baseline) and 4 months (follow-up) after MI. The following parameters were measured: left ventricular end-diastolic and end-systolic volume index for body surface area (LVEDVi and LVESVi), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and LV mass index, AAR and IS. LV HDFs were computed at baseline from cine CMR long axis datasets using a novel method based on LV endocardial boundary tracking. LV HDFs were calculated both in apex-base (A-B) and latero-septal (L-S) directions. The distribution of LV HDFs were evaluated by L-S over A-B HDFs ratio (L-S/A-B HDFs ratio %). All HDFs parameters are computed over the entire heartbeat, in systole and diastole. aLVr was defined as an absolute increase in LVESV of at least 15% (ΔLV-ESV ≥15%).
Results
Patients with aLVr (n = 18; 37%) had significant greater value of AAR (32 ± 23 vs 22 ± 18; p = 0.03) and slightly larger IS (23 ± 16 vs 15 ± 11; p= 0.07) at baseline. In patients with aLVr at FU, baseline systolic L-S HDF were lower (2.7 ± 0.9 vs 3.6 ± 1; p = 0.027) while diastolic L-S/A-B HDF ratio was significantly higher (28 ± 14 vs 19 ± 6; p = 0.03), reflecting higher grade of diastolic HDFs misalignment. At univariate logistic regression analysis, higher IS [Odd ratio (OR) 1.05; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.01-1.1; p= 0.04] L-S HDFs (OR 0.41; 95% CI 0.2-0.9; p= 0.04] and higher diastolic L-S/A-B HDFs ratio (OR 1.1; 95% CI 1.01-1.2; p= 0.05) were associated with aLVr at FU (Table). At multivariate logistic regression analysis, L-S/A-B HDF ratio remained the only independent predictor of adverse LV remodeling after correction for other baseline determinants.
Conclusion
Misalignment of diastolic HDFs following STEMI is associated with aLVr observed after 4 months.
Predictors of adverse remodeling Univariate Multivariate Parameter OR (95% CI) P OR (95% CI) P IS (%) 1.05 (1.01-1.1) 0.042 - - Systolic L-S HDF 0.41 (0.2-0.9) 0.04 - - Diastolic L-S/A-B HDF Ratio 1.1 (1.01-1.2) 0.05 1.1 (1.01-1.2) 0.04 A-B:apex-base; L-S: latero-septal; HDFs: hemodynamic forces Abstract Figure. Diastolic HDFs distribution and aLV
A Variational Procedure for Time-Dependent Processes
A simple variational Lagrangian is proposed for the time development of an
arbitrary density matrix, employing the "factorization" of the density. Only
the "kinetic energy" appears in the Lagrangian. The formalism applies to pure
and mixed state cases, the Navier-Stokes equations of hydrodynamics, transport
theory, etc. It recaptures the Least Dissipation Function condition of
Rayleigh-Onsager {\bf and in practical applications is flexible}. The
variational proposal is tested on a two level system interacting that is
subject, in one instance, to an interaction with a single oscillator and, in
another, that evolves in a dissipative mode.Comment: 25 pages, 4 figure
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