Cerebral protection for the preclinical evaluation of a vascular graft in sheep carotid artery model

A protocol for cerebral protection without systemic hypothermia to aid the safe, smooth and fast recovery of sheep used for the preclinical evaluation of a prosthetic vascular graft in the carotid artery is presented in this study. Ten adult Ramnad white sheep (33.

Settlement Analysis of Circular Footings on Layered Soil Systems

Many studies are available on the settlement analysis of footings on a homogeneous soil deposit underlain by a rigid base. However, the soil profile is seldom homogenous and typically a layered soil system is encountered in practice. The present study deals with the settlement profiles of soil underneath a circular footing of radius equal to a, and resting on a finite two-layered soil system with thicknesses equal to H1 and H2. The deformation moduli and Poisson’s ratios of the two layers are E1, υ1, and E2, υ2. The settlement profiles are proposed for varying H1/a and H2/a ratios (H1/a= 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, 4 and 6, and H2/a= 1, 2, 4 and 6). The moduli ratio E1/E2is varied as 0.01, 0.05, 0.1, 0.5, 1, 2, 5 and 20. The extent of settlement due to load is also proposed from the surface settlement profile which can help in determining the influence of a footing on the neighboring footing or structure. The analysis is carried out using PLAXIS 2D vAE. In addition, the settlement influence factors are proposed for the above mentioned ratios to estimate the maximum settlement of the footing on a layered system. The results are also compared with the settlement measured in a building on a layered system in Adelaide, Southern Australia, and the results are found to be comparable

Finite Element Modeling of Ground - Structure Interaction Considering Non-Linear Response of the Ground

Response of the ground on which the structure rests will have a bearing on the distribution of forces in the structural members. Conventional method s of structural analysis and design a ssume often fixed bases for various loading conditions. A realistic analysis and design procedure should includ e actual support flexibility, no nlinear and heterogeneous nature of the soil together with nonlinear soil-structure in teraction effects. Such an analysis would resu lt in overall stiffne ss of the soil-foundation-structure system , realistic to the existing conditions. This work focuses on the computational modeling of ground-structure interaction usi ng finite element package ANSYS. To demonstrate the behavior of structure while considering actual nature of ground response , a simple portal frame is analyzed. Portal frame is modeled as linear elastic, whereas the ground is modeled as both linear elastic and non-linear elastic-plastic behavior. The study gives insight into variation of displacement of portal frame while considering linear and non-linear behavior of ground

RECENT UPDATE ON ORAL FILMS: A BENCH TO MARKET POTENTIAL

Oral films are gaining a lot of attention as a substitute approach to the conventional dosage form. Over the past few years, many of the pharmaceutical scientists throughout the world are focusing their research on oral films, trying to see the sights of oral films as a novel drug delivery system. The oral films are convenient to swallow for geriatric and pediatric patients, are self-administrable, used for systemic and local action and rapid release of a drug, which makes it an excellent system of drug delivery. This review article mainly discusses the manufacturing aspects of films and their characterization, applications and the constraints in the development of oral films along with highlights of market potential

ADAPTATION OF LITTLEARS AUDITORY QUESTIONNAIRE IN TAMIL

Objectives: To adapt the LittlEARS Questionnaire in Tamil language and evaluate it in Tamil speaking cochlear implant children. Methods: LEAQ was translated to the Tamil language by a back-translation method following the guidelines of the World Health Organisation. The translated version was later administered to 100 randomly selected parents of cochlear implantees, scoring was done out of 35 for each child. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS software version 20.0 were descriptive statistics were carried out extracting the mean, standard deviation and range. Results: The results got did not significantly deviate from the normative, thus being able to quantify hierarchical auditory development skills and performance of children. Conclusion: LEAQ is a good subjective tool that can measure the outcome of cochlear implant/hearing aids, it must be translated and validated based on cultural and linguistic background.  Article visualizations

Mutation of interfacial residues disrupts subunit folding and particle assembly of Physalis mottle tymovirus

Virus-like particles (VLPs) serve as excellent model systems to identify the pathways of virus assembly. To gain insights into the assembly mechanisms of the Physalis mottle tymovirus (PhMV), six interfacial residues, identified based on the crystal structure of the native and recombinant capsids, were targeted for mutagenesis. The Q37E, Y67A, R68Q, D83A, I123A, and S145A mutants of the PhMV recombinant coat protein (rCP) expressed in Escherichia coli were soluble. However, except for the S145A mutant, which assembled into VLPs similar to that of wild type rCP capsids, all the other mutants failed to assemble into VLPs. Furthermore, the purified Q37E, Y67A, R68Q, D83A, and I123A rCP mutants existed essentially as partially folded monomers as revealed by sucrose density gradient analysis, circular dichroism, fluorescence, thermal, and urea denaturation studies. The rCP mutants locked into such conformations probably lack the structural signals/features that would allow them to assemble into capsids. Thus, the mutation of residues involved in inter-subunit interactions in PhMV disrupts both subunit folding and particle assembly

Bearing Capacity of A Strip Footing Resting On Treated And Untreated Soils

Expansive soils are highly susceptible to volumetric changes leading to rapid loss in the bearing capacity of footings resting on them. Among several techniques available to treat expansive soils, lime or fly ash stabilization gained prominence during the past few decades due to its abundance and adaptability. Chemical stabilization is widely used to treat expansive soils as it develops base exchange and cementation processes between clay particles.When expansive soils are treated with chemicals, it is essential to obtain the load-settlement response of footing resting on stabilized ground. In this study, Finite Element Analysis is performed using the commercial software, PLAXIS 2D, to obtain the load-settlement response of a strip footing resting on untreated and treated expansive soil. The bearing capacity of strip footing resting on treated soil is found to be about 150% higher than that of footing resting on untreated soil

NC2213: a novel methionine aminopeptidase 2 inhibitor in human colon cancer HT29 cells

Methionine aminopeptidase 2 (MetAP2) is a bifunctional protein that plays a critical role in the regulation of post-translational processing and protein synthesis. MetAP2 is overexpressed in human colon cancer. In this report we screened various MetAP2 inhibitors and treated HT29 cells with various concentrations of compounds. We evaluated the expression of MetAP2 and pp60c-src expressions in HT29 cells. In addition we also carried out the cell proliferation and cell cycle analysis in the MetAP2 inhibitor-treated HT29 cells. The cell cycle analysis of HT29 treated with 1.0 μM of NC2213 showed an arrest in the G2 phase followed by an induction in the percentage of cells undergoing apoptosis in the sub-G1 phase. Western blot analysis revealed that the MetAP2 expression was dose-dependently decreased when the HT29 cells were treated with the 3,5-bis(benzylidene)-4-piperidone derivative (NC2213). In addition, phosphorylation of Src, a myristoylated oncoprotein was significantly decreased by 1.0 μM of NC2213 as revealed by Western blot analysis. Furthermore, NC2213 also inhibits the expression of pp60c-src in HT29 cells. Interestingly, this compound also inhibits the phosphorylation at Tyr416 of pp60c-src while increasing the phosphorylation at Tyr527 of pp60c-src. NC2213 inhibits the growth of HT29 cells by inducing apoptosis and might be useful for the treatment of human colon cancer

Effect of Compaction Stresses on Performance of Back-to-Back Retaining Walls

Back-to-back reinforced soil retaining walls are commonly used for approach embankments of bridges and flyovers. Existing design guidelines (FHWA/BS/IS codes) do not provide a mechanistic approach to design back-to-back reinforced soil retaining walls. Lateral pressures on the facing and at end of reinforced zone are required for stability checks (both internal and external). During stage-wise construction of back-to-back walls, compaction stresses should be incorporated to obtain realistic lateral earth pressures on the walls. The present paper describes the effect of the compaction stresses on the lateral pressures in such reinforced soil retaining walls. The variation of lateral pressures at the end of reinforced zone along the depth of the wall is obtained from numerical modeling of back-to-back reinforced soil walls. A surcharge load of 30 kPa is applied at the end of the construction of the wall. It is observed that the effect of surcharge load is not significant after certain depth of the wall for lower spacing between walls to wall height ratios. A comparison on lateral pressures with and without compaction stresses for different distances between the ends of reinforcements of two walls is presented. Effect of connection of reinforcement is also studied