The quality determination of biofuels requires identifying the chemical and physical parameters. The key physical parameters are rheological, thermal and electrical properties. In our study, we ...investigated samples of diesel blends with rape-seed methyl esters content in the range from 3 to 100%. In these, we measured basic thermophysical properties, including thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity, using two different transient methods – the hot-wire method and the dynamic plane source. Every thermophysical parameter was measured 100 times using both methods for all samples. Dynamic viscosity was measured during the heating process under the temperature range 20-80°C. A digital rotational viscometer (Brookfield DV 2T) was used for dynamic viscosity detection. Electrical conductivity was measured using digital conductivity meter (Model 1152) in a temperature range from −5 to 30°C. The highest values of thermal parameters were reached in the diesel sample with the highest biofuel content. The dynamic viscosity of samples increased with higher concentration of bio-component rapeseed methyl esters. The electrical conductivity of blends also increased with rapeseed methyl esters content.
We introduce a nonlocal transformation to generate exact solutions of the constant astigmatism equation .... The transformation is related to the special case of the famous Bäcklund transformation of ...the sine-Gordon equation with the Bäcklund parameter .... It is also a nonlocal symmetry. ProQuest: ... denotes formulae omitted.
Apoptosis plays a critical role in cancer cell survival and tumor development. We provide a hypothesis-generating screen for further research by exploring the expression profile and genetic ...variability of caspases (2, 3, 7, 8, 9, and 10) in breast carcinoma patients. This study addressed isoform-specific caspase transcript expression and genetic variability in regulatory sequences of caspases 2 and 9.
Gene expression profiling was performed by quantitative real-time PCR in tumor and paired non-malignant tissues of two independent groups of patients. Genetic variability was determined by high resolution melting, allelic discrimination, and sequencing analysis in tumor and peripheral blood lymphocyte DNA of the patients.
CASP3 A+B and S isoforms were over-expressed in tumors of both patient groups. The CASP9 transcript was down-regulated in tumors of both groups of patients and significantly associated with expression of hormonal receptors and with the presence of rs4645978-rs2020903-rs4646034 haplotype in the CASP9 gene. Patients with a low intratumoral CASP9A/B isoform expression ratio (predicted to shift equilibrium towards anti-apoptotic isoform) subsequently treated with adjuvant chemotherapy had a significantly shorter disease-free survival than those with the high ratio (p=0.04). Inheritance of CC genotype of rs2020903 in CASP9 was associated with progesterone receptor expression in tumors (p=0.003).
Genetic variability in CASP9 and expression of its splicing variants present targets for further study.
Abstract Objectives Perry syndrome consists of autosomal dominant Parkinsonism, depression, weight loss, and central hypoventilation. Eight mutations in 16 families have been reported: p.F52L, ...p.G67D, p.G71R, p.G71E, p.G71A, p.T72P, p.Q74P, and p.Y78C located in exon 2 of the dynactin 1 ( DCTN1 ) gene on chromosome 2p13.1. Methods Genealogical, clinical, genetic, and functional studies were performed in three kindreds from New Zealand, the United States, and Colombia. A diaphragmatic pacemaker was implanted in the proband from the Colombian family to treat her respiratory insufficiency. Dopaminergic therapy was initiated in probands from two families. Results Besides the probands, 17 symptomatic relatives from all families were identified. The cardinal signs of Perry syndrome were present in all three probands with symptomatic disease onset in their fifth or sixth decade of life. Parkinsonism was moderate with a partial response to dopaminergic treatment. All affected persons but two died of respiratory insufficiency. The proband from the Colombian family is alive most likely due to early diagnosis and implantation of a diaphragmatic pacemaker. Two-and-a-half-year follow-up examination has revealed that the diaphragmatic pacemaker is optimally functioning without any major complications. In the Colombian and US families, the DCTN1 p.G71R and in the New Zealand family the DCTN1 p.Y78C mutations were identified. In functional assays, both mutations altered microtubule binding consistent with a pathogenic role. Conclusions Perry syndrome is a rare condition, but new cases are expected to be diagnosed worldwide. Early diagnosis prevents life-threatening acute respiratory failure. Diaphragmatic pacemakers should be considered as an effective symptomatic treatment option.
The aim of the research was to investigate changes of abrasive grains on metals observing the kerf walls produced by the Abrasive Water Jet (AWJ). The microscopy observations of the sidewalls of ...kerfs cut by the AWJ in several metal materials with an identical thickness of 10 mm are presented. The observed sizes of abrasive grains were compared with the results of research aimed at the disintegration of the abrasive grains during the mixing process in the cutting head during the injection AWJ creation. Some correlations were discovered and verified. The kerf walls observations show the size of material disintegration caused by the individual abrasive grains and also indicate the size of these grains. One part of this short communication is devoted to a critical look at some of the conclusions of the older published studies, namely regarding the correlation of the number of interacting particles with the acoustic emissions measured on cut materials. The discussion is aimed at the abrasive grain size after the mixing process and changes of this size in the interaction with the target material.
The subtribe Clavigerodina (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae, subfamily Pselaphinae, supertribe Clavigeritae) of South Africa is revised. A key to genera and species is given. One new genus, Zuluclavodes ...gen. n., and five new species, Zuluclavodes briantaylori sp. n., Novoclaviger joncooteri sp. n., N. pugionis sp. n., N. reticulatus sp. n., and Pararticerus ruthae sp. n. are described. Lectotypes are designated for Novoclaviger braunsi (Wasmann, 1897) and N. wroughtoni (Wasmann, 1894). Two species groups based on N. gibbiventris and N. wroughtoni are defined for the genus Novoclaviger Wasmann, 1894. New combinations are established : Novoclaviger auriculatus, N. braunsi, N. capensis and N. majusculus. Pararticerus Jeannel, 1955 is reinstated from the synonymy of Articerodes Raffray, 1890, and Fustigeropsis simplex is considered as a junior synonym of F. peringueyi (Raffray, 1887). A catalogue of members of the supertribe Clavigeritae occurring in South Africa with their known host ants is provided.
Epithelial ovarian carcinoma (EOC) is highly fatal because of the risk of resistance to therapy and recurrence. We performed whole-exome sequencing of blood and tumor tissue pairs of 50 patients with ...surgically resected EOC. Compared with sensitive patients, platinum-resistant patients had a significantly higher somatic mutational rate in
TP53
and lower in several genes from the Hippo pathway. We confirmed the pivotal role of somatic mutations in homologous recombination repair genes in platinum sensitivity and favorable prognosis of EOC patients. Implementing the germline homologous recombination repair profile significantly improved the prediction. In addition, distinct mutational signatures, for example, SBS6, and overall mutational load, somatic mutations in
PABPC1
,
PABPC3
, and
TFAM
co-segregated with the resistance status, high-grade serous carcinoma subtype, or overall survival of patients. We generated germline and somatic genetic landscapes of prognostically different subgroups of EOC patients for further follow-up studies focused on utilizing the observed associations in precision oncology.
Neurosurgical interventions in the brain are challenging due to delicate anatomical structures. During surgery, precise navigation of surgical instruments supports surgeons and allows prevention of ...adverse events. Here, an augmented reality-based navigation aid with automated segmentation of risk structures and path planning is presented. Superimposed patient models are visualized during neurosurgical interventions on the example of the ventricular puncture. The proposed system is experimentally validated in a realistic operating room scenario with expert neurosurgeons to determine its quality of support as well as its potential for clinical translation. The automated segmentation reaches a F1-Score of 95-99%. Paths are planned correctly in 93.4%. The entire process enables navigation aid in under five minutes. Validation shows that the system allows for a puncture success rate of 81.7% with mean accuracy of 4.8 ± 2.5 mm. A control group who performed the standard-of-care procedure reached a rate of 71.7% with 6.5 ± 2.4 mm accuracy. Acceptability analysis shows that 85.7% of the participating surgeons approve of the system's convenience and 92.9% expect accuracy improvement. The presented navigation aid for ventricular puncture enables automated surgical planning and may improve accuracy and success rates of neurosurgical interventions.
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