e pluribus unum: Out of many, one

Virus has been known as a filtered particle, normally smaller than 0.22 micrometer, which is impossible to be observed by human eyes. By using electron microscope (EM), we are able to visualize the beauty of microorganism. Although EM is no longer as popular as it used to be, as a student, I still am stunned by this black and white image. As a fact we all well aware that virus can only be alive inside a host but little is shown that how many virus can actually be produced by a single host cell. This portrait shows the long thrive of virus in chicken feather follicular epithelium and demonstrates the sophisticated balance between keep you and your host alive. (just like people live in the earth!)Ope

Derived length and nilpotency class of zero entropy groups acting on compact Kahler manifolds

Let X be a compact Kahler manifold of dimension n and of Kodaira dimension kappa(X). Let G be a group of zero entropy automorphisms of X and G_0 the set of elements in G which are isotopic to the identity. We prove that replacing G by a suitable finite-index subgroup, G/G_0 is a unipotent group of derived length at most n-max(kappa(X),1) and the derived length of G is at most n-kappa(X). Up to taking a finite-index subgroup, we conjecture that the nilpotency class c(G/G_0) of G/G_0 is at most n-1. The conjecture is proved to be true for all complex tori. Assuming this conjecture for all compact Kahler manifolds, we show that c(G) is at most n-kappa(X). The algebro-geometric structure of X is studied when c(G)=n or c(G/G_0)=n-1. We also give an optimal upper bound of the size of the Jordan blocks of the unipotent automorphisms of H^2(X,C) induced by automorphisms of X.Comment: New version joined with Hsueh-Yung LIN. 38 pages. New results have been added and a mistake was fixe

Nebulized combined lignocaine and Salbutamol in treatment of acute asthma (A Pilot Study)

Management of asthma in Emergency. Department remains a challenge to all Emergency Physician and Allied Health Personnel. Various modality of treatment has surfaced since the last decade and lately, anaestheti~ medications have found a place in treatment of mild to moderate asthma patients. Anaesthetic medications have long been found to have direct effect on airway smooth muscle and it causes relaxation of the bronchial smooth muscles. The anaesthetic medication in question is Lignocaine. Lignocaine is an local anaesthetic and anti-arrythmic medication that is easily available. It has a rapid onset of action and short duration of action. Lately it has been found to have property to attenuate reflex bronchoconstriction and also anti-inflammatory. STUDY OBJECTIVE The objective of this study is to compare the result of relief of bronchoconstrictions in patients with acute asthma when they are given either combined nebulized lignocaine & salbutamol or salbutamol only. This study also would like to document the side effects of combined nebulized lignocaine and salbutamol. METHOD A prospective study was conducted on 50 patients who had come to the emergency department and required treatment for acute exacerbation of mild to moderate asthma. Patients who fulfilled the criterias for inclusion were randomized to receive either plain salbutamol or combined salbutamol with lignocaine nebulized treatment. Measurements of peak expiratory flow rate and other clinical datas such as blood pressure, pulse rate, respiratory rate and oxygen saturation level will be t*en in intervals. RESULTS The results from 50 patients requiring treatment for acute exacerbation of asthma showed that there were no significant difference between those randomized to receive plain salbutamol treatment and those receiving combined salbutamol and lignocaine nebulizers. At 15 minutes of treatment, the mean percentage of increased PEFR value of 20.92 ±2S.23 (Single) and IS.01 ± 22.09 (Combined) . The p value seen was 0.687 at 15 minutes interval of treatment. Even at 30 minutes of treatment shows the mean percentage value of increased PEFR at 33.91 ± 34.79 (Single) and 36.02 ± 41.15 (Combined) with p value of 0.846. Out of 25 patients who were given combined saJbutamoJ and lignocaine treatment, 16 patients experienced numbness of the oral cavity and 9 patients experienced both bitterness taste and numbmess of the oral cavity. CONCLUSION Combined salbutamol and lignocaine did not have a better relief of bronchoconstriction as compared to salbutamol nebulization in mild to moderate asthma. The expected side effects of lignocaine were encountered and there were no new ones

Integrin-mediated membrane blebbing is dependent on the NHE1 and NCX1 activities.

Integrin-mediated signal transduction and membrane blebbing have been well studied to modulate cell adhesion, spreading and migration^1-6^. However, the relationship between membrane blebbing and integrin signaling has not been explored. Here we show that integrin-ligand interaction induces membrane blebbing and membrane permeability change. We found that sodium-proton exchanger 1 (NHE1) and sodium-calcium exchanger 1 (NCX1) are located in the membrane blebbing sites and inhibition of NHE1 disrupts membrane blebbing and decreases membrane permeability change. However, inhibition of NCX1 enhances cell blebbing to cause cell swelling which is correlated with an intracellular sodium accumulation induced by NHE17. These data suggest that sodium influx induced by NHE1 is a driving force for membrane blebbing growth, while sodium efflux induced by NCX1 in a reverse mode causes membrane blebbing retraction. Together, these data reveal a novel function of NHE1 and NCX1 in membrane permeability change and blebbing and provide the link for integrin signaling and membrane blebbing

On the Significance and Predicted Functional Effects of the Crown-to-Implant Ratio: a Finite Element Study of Long-Term Implant Stability Using High-Resolution, Nonlinear Numerical Analysis

poster abstractBackground. As the use of short dental implants becomes increasingly popular, the effects of the crown-to-implant (C/I) ratio on stress and strain distributions remain controversial. Previous studies in literature disagree on results of interest and level of necessary technical detail. Purpose. The present study sought to evaluate the strain distribution and assess its functional implications in a single implant-supported crown with various C/I ratios placed in the maxillary molar region. Materials and Methods. A high-fidelity, nonlinear finite-element model was developed to simulate multiple clinical scenarios by laterally loading a set of single implants with various implant lengths and crown heights. Strain distribution and maximum equivalent strain were analyzed to evaluate the effects and significance of the crown height, implant length and C/I ratio. The consistency of predicted functional responses to resulting strain at the implant interface were analyzed by interface surface area. Results. Results were evaluated according to the mechanostat hypothesis to predict functional response to strain. Overloading and effects of strain concentrations were more prevalent with increasing C/I ratios. Overloading was predicted for all configurations to varying degrees, and increased with decreasing implant lengths. Fracture in trabecular bone was predicted for at least one C/I ratio and all implant lengths of 10 mm or less. Conclusions. Higher C/I ratios and lower implant lengths increase the biomechanical risks of overloading and fracture. Increasing C/I ratios augment the functional effects of other implant design factors, particularly implant interface features. Greater C/I ratios may be achieved with implant designs that induce less significant strain concentrations

Antioxidant activity and growth inhibition of human colon cancer cells by crude and purified fucoidan preparations extracted from Sargassum cristaefolium

AbstractFucose-containing sulfated polysaccharides, also termed “fucoidans”, which are known to possess antioxidant, anticoagulant, anticancer, antiviral, and immunomodulating properties, are normally isolated from brown algae via various extraction techniques. In the present study, two methods (SC1 and SC2) for isolation of fucoidan from Sargassum cristaefolium were compared, with regard to the extraction yields, antioxidant activity, and inhibition of growth of human colon cancer cells exhibited by the respective extracts. SC1 and SC2 differ in the number of extraction steps and concentration of ethanol used, as well as the obtained sulfated polysaccharide extracts, namely, crude fucoidan preparation (CFP) and purified fucoidan preparation (PFP), respectively. Thin layer chromatography, Fourier transform infrared analysis, and measurements of fucose and sulfate contents revealed that the extracts were fucoidan. There was a higher extraction yield for CFP, which contained less fucose and sulfate but more uronic acid, and had weaker antioxidant activity and inhibition of growth in human colon cancer cells. In contrast, there was a lower extraction yield for PFP, which contained more fucose and sulfate but less uronic acid, and had stronger antioxidant activity and inhibition of growth in human colon cancer cells. Thus, since the difference in bioactive activities between CFP and PFP was not remarkable, the high extraction yield of SC1 might be favored as a method in industrial usage for extracting fucoidan

Antioxidation activity and total phenolic contents of various Toona sinensis extracts

Products Processing Division, LRI, COA, Tainan, Taiwan. Accepted 1 August, 2012 The purpose of this study was to analyze the antioxidation activities and total phenolic contents of Toona sinensis. An extractive method of the antioxidant activities of local T. sinensis leaf extracts and various antioxidation models were analyzed. The effects of various solvent concentrations to extract the T. sinensis leaf on the antioxidation activity were compared. The results showed that the T. sinensis leaf extracts of various solvent concentrations had good antioxidant activities. The chelating abilities of ferrous ion in the T. sinensis leaf extracts obtained from various solvent concentrations were above 80%. It is concluded that T. sinensis leaf extracts could be used as biopreservatives of food products. The total antioxidant activities, chelating abilities of ferrous ions and reducing capacities of the T. sinensis leaf extracts might provide a substitute for a natural antioxidant.Keywords: Antioxidative activity, bio-preservatives, extracts, Toona sinensi

Smooth projective surfaces with infinitely many real forms

First of all, we confirm a few basic criteria of the finiteness of real forms of a given smooth complex projective variety, in terms of the Galois cohomology set of the discrete part of the automorphism group, the cone conjecture and the topological entropy. We then apply them to show that a smooth complex projective surface has at most finitely many mutually non-isomorphic real forms unless it is either rational or a non-minimal surface birational to either a K3 surface or an Enriques surface. We finally construct an Enriques surface whose blow-up at one point admits infinitely many mutually non-isomorphic real forms, which answers a question of Kondo to us and also shows the three exceptional cases really occur