HLA-DQA1*05 carriage associated with development of anti-drug antibodies to infliximab and adalimumab in patients with Crohn's Disease

Anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) therapies are the most widely used biologic drugs for treating immune-mediated diseases, but repeated administration can induce the formation of anti-drug antibodies. The ability to identify patients at increased risk for development of anti-drug antibodies would facilitate selection of therapy and use of preventative strategies.This article is freely available via Open Access. Click on Publisher URL to access the full-text

Analiza prekidača startera solenoida automobila

The purpose of this paper is to present an experimental study of simple geometries representing the electrical contact in automotive connectors when current passes through them.  The starting system is designed to provide the vehicle operator with a convenient, efficient and reliable means of cranking and starting the internal combustion engine used to power the vehicles and all of its accessory systems from within the safe and secure confines of the passenger compartment. The starting system consists of two separate circuits, high amperage circuit (150A - 350A) and low amperage circuit (< 20A). Since foresaid circuit involves high current low voltage system, the starter motor solenoid contact will observe high current at their contacts. So this high current makes pitting effect and lead to increase in solenoid contact resistance. Due to increased contact resistance the starter motor may not produce sufficient torque and leads to overloading of battery due to successive attempts. In order to overcome this problem, a new model for solenoid switch contact has been developed using finite element modelling method ANSYS Parametric Design Language to reduce the internal resistance of the battery due to overloading because of increased contact resistance at the solenoid contact points. The obtained results are useful for finding a compromise between the electrical and mechanical aspects for a power connector and to help manufacturers to decrease the weight and the electrical contact resistance of their connectors.U ovom članku namjera je prikazati jednostavnu eksperimentalnu analizu električnog kontakta u automobilskim kontaktima kada vode struju. Sustav za paljenje je dizajniran je kako bi osigurao vozaču praktičan, učinkovit i pouzdan način paljenja motora s unutarnjim izgaranjem. Sustav za paljenje sastoji se od dva odvojena kruga, krug s jakom strujom (150 A - 530 A) i slabom stujom (< 20A). Kako spomenuti krug podrazumijeva krug s jakim stujama i niskim naponom, kontakt solenoida će na krajevima davati velike iznose stuja. Ta će struja uzrokovati povećanje otpora kontakta. zbog povećanog otpora kontakta starter možda neće proizvesti dostatan moment što će dovesti do preopterećenja baterije. Kako bi se riješio navedeni problem, razvijen je novi model kontakta solenoida koristeći modeliranje konačnim elementima (ANSYS Parametric Design Language). Dobiveni rezultati korisni su kako bi se pronašao kompromis između električnih i mehaničkih aspekata i kako bi se pomoglo proizvođačima da smanje težinu i otpor konektora električnog kontakta

Gastrin stimulates expression of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 in gastric epithelial cells.

Plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI)-1 is associated with cancer progression, fibrosis and thrombosis. It is expressed in the stomach but the mechanisms controlling its expression there, and its biological role, are uncertain. We sought to define the role of gastrin in regulating PAI-1 expression and to determine the relevance for gastrin-stimulated cell migration and invasion. In gastric biopsies from subjects with elevated plasma gastrin, the abundances of PAI-1, urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA), and uPA receptor (uPAR) mRNAs measured by quantitative PCR were increased compared with subjects with plasma concentrations in the reference range. In patients with hypergastrinemia due to autoimmune chronic atrophic gastritis, there was increased abundance of PAI-1, uPA, and uPAR mRNAs that was reduced by octreotide or antrectomy. Immunohistochemistry revealed localization of PAI-1 to parietal cells and enterochromaffin-like cells in micronodular neuroendocrine tumors in hypergastrinemic subjects. Transcriptional mechanisms were studied by using a PAI-1-luciferase promoter-reporter construct transfected into AGS-G(R) cells. There was time- and concentration-dependent increase of PAI-1-luciferase expression in response to gastrin that was reversed by inhibitors of the PKC and MAPK pathways. In Boyden chamber assays, recombinant PAI-1 inhibited gastrin-stimulated AGS-G(R) cell migration and invasion, and small interfering RNA treatment increased responses to gastrin. We conclude that elevated plasma gastrin concentrations are associated with increased expression of gastric PAI-1, which may act to restrain gastrin-stimulated cell migration and invasion

Deterioration of coastal groundwater quality in Rameswaram Island of Ramanathapuram District, Southern India

A study was carried out in the South-West, North-East and North-West segments dividing the local area of Rameswaram Island to characterize the physico-chemical characteristics of 87 groundwater samples which include pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), salinity, total alkalinity (TA), calcium hardness (CH), magnesium hardness, total hardness (TH), chloride and fluoride. heavy inorganic load in majority of the groundwater samples has been estimated due to the salinity, TDS, TH and chloride beyond the threshold level which substantiates the percolation of sea water into the freshwater confined zones. The Water Quality Index and Langeleir Saturation Index have also been calculated to know the potable and corrosive/incrusting nature of the water samples. The results are interpreted based on statistical tools. Greater than 80 % of the samples were found to have exceeded the limit of WHO drinking standard especially in TDS, CH, TA and chloride