Fractional Order Junctions

Gottfried Leibniz generalized the derivation and integration, extending the operators from integer up to real, or even complex, orders. It is presently recognized that the resulting models capture long term memory effects difficult to describe by classical tools. Leon Chua generalized the set of lumped electrical elements that provide the building blocks in mathematical models. His proposal of the memristor and of higher order elements broadened the scope of variables and relationships embedded in the development of models. This paper follows the two directions and proposes a new logical step, by generalizing the concept of junction. Classical junctions interconnect system elements using simple algebraic restrictions. Nevertheless, this simplistic approach may be misleading in the presence of unexpected dynamical phenomena and requires including additional “parasitic” elements. The novel γ-junction includes, as special cases, the standard series and parallel connections and allows a new degree of freedom when building models. The proposal motivates the search for experimental and real world manifestations of the abstract conjectures.

Health-Related Quality of Life Impact of a Triple Combination of Olmesartan Medoxomil, Amlodipine Besylate and Hydrochlorotiazide in Subjects with Hypertension

BACKGROUND: A post-hoc analysis was performed on the data from a 54 weeks phase III study (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00923091) to measure changes in the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of 2,690 patients aged ≥18 with moderate-to-severe hypertension who received one of six doses of olmesartan/amlodipine/hydrochlorothiazide (OLM/AML/HCTZ), using the MINICHAL and EQ-5D instruments. METHODS: Descriptive statistics were used to assess blood pressure and HRQoL scores over the study period. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to identify those factors that could possibly have influenced HRQoL. Linear regression was used to assess the relationship between changes in blood pressure and HRQoL scores. RESULTS: Patients' baseline MINICHAL mood and somatic domains scores were 5.5 and 2.6. Over the study period HRQoL improved as both MINICHAL scores decreased by 31-33%. Patients' baseline EQ-5D index and VAS scores were 0.9 and 73.4 respectively, increasing by 6% and 12% over the study period. Patients' QALY gain over the 54 weeks study period was estimated to be 0.029 QALYs. The ANCOVA showed that changes in patients' HRQoL was likely to have been influenced by patients' achievement of blood pressure control, the amount of concomitant medication and patients' last used dosage strength of antihypertensive. Linear regression showed that blood pressure improvement may have been associated with improved HRQoL. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that OLM/AML/HCTZ reduced blood pressure and significantly increased blood pressure control whilst improving patients' HRQoL. Achieving blood pressure control, amount of concomitant medication and dosage strength of antihypertensive impacted on patients' HRQoL.

Triple Regimen with Rituximab, Plasmapheresis and Intravenous Immunoglobulin in the Treatment of Dialysis Dependent Acute Humoral-Mediated Rejection in Kidney Grafts

Introduction: The clinical importance of humoral-mediated acute rejection has been progressively recognised. Early recognition and treatment with plasmapheresis and intravenous immunoglobulin have recently improved short term prognosis. Case report: In this report we describe the clinical features of three 2nd transplant patients developing severe acute humoral rejection during the first week post-transplant while on anti-thymocyte globulin therapy. Treatment with plasmapheresis/ intravenous immunoglobulin/rituximab resulted in rapid reversal of oliguria,and recovery of renal function within the 1st week of treatment in 2/3 patients. Diagnosis was confirmed by graft biopsies revealing peritubular neutrophiles and C4d deposits. Sequential graft biopsies in all three patients revealed complete histological recovery within two weeks. One patient never recovered renal function, and one patient lost his graft at three months following hemorrhagic shock. After 2 years follow up, the remaining patient maintains a serum creatinine of 1.1mg/dl. Conclusion: The regimen using plasmapheresis plus intravenous immunoglobulin and rituximab was effective in rapidly reversing severe acute humoral rejection.

Wireless triple play system

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia Electrotécnica e Computadores

Factors affecting Helicobacter pylori eradication using a seven-day triple therapy with a proton pump inhibitor, tinidazole and clarithromycin, in brazilian patients with peptic ulcer

Triple therapy is accepted as the treatment of choice for H. pylori eradication. In industrialized countries, a proton pump inhibitor plus clarithromycin and amoxicillin or nitroimidazole have shown the best results. Our aims were: 1. To study the eradication rate of the association of a proton pump inhibitor plus tinidazole and clarithromycin on H. pylori infection in our population. 2. To determine if previous treatments, gender, age, tobacco, alcohol use, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) change the response to therapy. METHODS: Two hundred patients with peptic ulcer (upper endoscopy) and H. pylori infection (histology and rapid urease test - RUT) were included. A proton pump inhibitor (lansoprazole 30 mg or omeprazole 20 mg), tinidazole 500 mg, and clarithromycin 250 mg were dispensed twice a day for a seven-day period. Eradication was assessed after 10 to 12 weeks of treatment through histology and RUT. RESULTS: The eradication rate of H. pylori per protocol was 65% (128/196 patients). This rate was 53% for previously treated patients, rising to 76% for not previously treated patients, with a statistical difference p<0.01. No significant difference was observed regarding sex, tobacco use, alcohol consumption, and NSAID use, but for elderly patients the difference was p = 0.05. Adherence to treatment was good, and side effects were mild. CONCLUSIONS: A proton pump inhibitor, tinidazole, and clarithromycin bid for seven days resulted in H. pylori eradication in 65% of the patients. Previous treatments were the main cause of treatment failure.

Low efficacy of an ultra-short term, once-daily dose triple therapy with omeprazole, azithromycin, and secnidazole for Helicobacter pylori eradication in peptic ulcer

PURPOSE: To determine the eradication rate of an ultra-short treatment schedule for Helicobacter pylori infection in a population with peptic ulcers, using omeprazole, secnidazole, and azithromycin in a once-daily dose for 3 days. METHODS: Thirty patients with peptic ulcer diagnosed by upper endoscopy and for Helicobacter pylori infection by rapid urease test and histologic examination received omeprazole 40 mg, secnidazole 1000 mg, and azithromycin 500 mg, administered once daily for 3 days. A follow-up exam was performed 12 weeks after the end of the treatment. Patients who were negative for Helicobacter pylori infection by rapid urease test and histologic examination were considered cured. RESULTS: Patients were predominantly female, and the mean age was 50 years. Duodenal peptic ulcer was found in 73% of the patients. Eradication was achieved in 9 of the 28 (32%) patients as determined from the follow-up endoscopic exam. The eradication rate by intention to treat was 30%. Side effects were present in 3% of the patients, and compliance to treatment was total. CONCLUSIONS: In spite of the low rate of side effects and good compliance, the eradication index was low. A possible drawback of this therapy is that it reduces the efficacy of macrolide and nitroimidazole compounds in subsequent treatments.

Integration of geometric consistency contributory factors in three-leg junctions collision prediction models of Portuguese two-lane national highways

This paper aims at developing a collision prediction model for three-leg junctions located in national roads (NR) in Northern Portugal. The focus is to identify factors that contribute for collision type crashes in those locations, mainly factors related to road geometric consistency, since literature is scarce on those, and to research the impact of three modeling methods: generalized estimating equations, random-effects negative binomial models and random-parameters negative binomial models, on the factors of those models. The database used included data published between 2008 and 2010 of 177 three-leg junctions. It was split in three groups of contributing factors which were tested sequentially for each of the adopted models: at first only traffic, then, traffic and the geometric characteristics of the junctions within their area of influence; and, lastly, factors which show the difference between the geometric characteristics of the segments boarding the junctionsâ area of influence and the segment included in that area were added. The choice of the best modeling technique was supported by the result of a cross validation made to ascertain the best model for the three sets of researched contributing factors. The models fitted with random-parameters negative binomial models had the best performance in the process. In the best models obtained for every modeling technique, the characteristics of the road environment, including proxy measures for the geometric consistency, along with traffic volume, contribute significantly to the number of collisions. Both the variables concerning junctions and the various national highway segments in their area of influence, as well as variations from those characteristics concerning roadway segments which border the already mentioned area of influence have proven their relevance and, therefore, there is a rightful need to incorporate the effect of geometric consistency in the three-leg junctions safety studies.

Triple negative breast cancer: nanosolutions for a big challenge

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a particular immunopathological subtype of breast cancer that lacks expression of estrogen and progesterone receptors (ER/PR) and amplification of the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) gene. Characterized by aggressive and metastatic phenotypes and high rates of relapse, TNBC is the only breast cancer subgroup still lacking effective therapeutic options, thus presenting the worst prognosis. The development of targeted therapies, as well as early diagnosis methods, is vital to ensure an adequate and timely therapeutic intervention in patients with TNBC. This review intends to discuss potentially emerging approaches for the diagnosis and treatment of TNBC patients, with a special focus on nano-based solutions that actively target these particular tumors.

Measurement of the WW+WZ cross section and limits on anomalous triple gauge couplings using final states with one lepton, missing transverse momentum, and two jets with the ATLAS detector at s√=7 TeV

The production of a W boson decaying to eν or μν in association with a W or Z boson decaying to two jets is studied using 4.6 fb−1 of proton--proton collision data at s√=7 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The combined WW+WZ cross section is measured with a significance of 3.4σ and is found to be 68±7 (stat.)±19 (syst.) pb, in agreement with the Standard Model expectation of 61.1±2.2 pb. The distribution of the transverse momentum of the dijet system is used to set limits on anomalous contributions to the triple gauge coupling vertices and on parameters of an effective-field-theory model.

Vorbereitungen für das Biolab Experiment TRIPLE LUX A : Hardwareentwicklung, Kalibrierung und biologische Bodenkontrollen

Magdeburg, Univ., Fak. für Maschinenbau, Diss., 2011

Myotonic dystrophy transgenic mice exhibit pathologic abnormalities in diaphragm neuromuscular junctions and phrenic nerves

Myotonic dystrophy Type 1 (DM-1) is caused by abnormal expansion of a (CTG) repeat located in the DM protein kinase gene. Respiratory problems have long been recognized to be a major feature of this disorder. Because respiratory failure can be associated with dysfunction of phrenic nerves and diaphragm muscle, we examined the diaphragm and respiratory neural network in transgenic mice carrying the human genomic DM-1 region with expanded repeats of more than 300 CTG, a valid model of the human disease. Morphologic and morphometric analyses revealed distal denervation of diaphragm neuromuscular junctions in DM-1 transgenic mice indicated by a decrease in the size and shape complexity of end-plates and a reduction in the concentration of acetyl choline receptors on the postsynaptic membrane. More importantly, there was a significant reduction in numbers of unmyelinated, but not of myelinated, fibers in DM-1 phrenic nerves; no morphologic alternations of the nerves or loss of neuronal cells were detected in medullary respiratory centers or cervical phrenic motor neurons. Because neuromuscular junctions are involved in action potential transmission and the afferent phrenic unmyelinated fibers control the inspiratory activity, our results suggest that the respiratory impairment associated with DM-1 may be partially due to pathologic alterations in neuromuscular junctions and phrenic nerves.

Differential regulation of the Hippo pathway by adherens junctions and apical-basal cell polarity modules.

Adherens junctions (AJs) and cell polarity complexes are key players in the establishment and maintenance of apical-basal cell polarity. Loss of AJs or basolateral polarity components promotes tumor formation and metastasis. Recent studies in vertebrate models show that loss of AJs or loss of the basolateral component Scribble (Scrib) cause deregulation of the Hippo tumor suppressor pathway and hyperactivation of its downstream effectors Yes-associated protein (YAP) and Transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif (TAZ). However, whether AJs and Scrib act through the same or independent mechanisms to regulate Hippo pathway activity is not known. Here, we dissect how disruption of AJs or loss of basolateral components affect the activity of the Drosophila YAP homolog Yorkie (Yki) during imaginal disc development. Surprisingly, disruption of AJs and loss of basolateral proteins produced very different effects on Yki activity. Yki activity was cell-autonomously decreased but non-cell-autonomously elevated in tissues where the AJ components E-cadherin (E-cad) or α-catenin (α-cat) were knocked down. In contrast, scrib knockdown caused a predominantly cell-autonomous activation of Yki. Moreover, disruption of AJs or basolateral proteins had different effects on cell polarity and tissue size. Simultaneous knockdown of α-cat and scrib induced both cell-autonomous and non-cell-autonomous Yki activity. In mammalian cells, knockdown of E-cad or α-cat caused nuclear accumulation and activation of YAP without overt effects on Scrib localization and vice versa. Therefore, our results indicate the existence of multiple, genetically separable inputs from AJs and cell polarity complexes into Yki/YAP regulation.

Treatment of chronic hepatitis C genotype 1 with triple therapy comprising telaprevir or boceprevir.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a leading cause of chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma worldwide. Two first-generation protease inhibitors, telaprevir and boceprevir, have recently been approved for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C genotype 1. Triple therapy comprising pegylated interferon-α, ribavirin and telaprevir or boceprevir increases sustained virological response rates to ~70% and allows to shorten treatment duration in ~½ of treatment-naïve patients with chronic hepatitis C genotype 1. Sustained virological response rates in treatment-experienced patients depend on the response to previous treatment, ranging from >80% in previous relapsers to ~30% in previous null responders. These advances come at the expense of new adverse effects and increased cost. In addition, treatment of chronic hepatitis C will become more complex. In these times of changing medical practice, the present expert opinion statement by the Swiss Association for the Study of the Liver shall provide guidance on the treatment of chronic hepatitis C with triple therapy comprising telaprevir or boceprevir.