Structure and dimension of global branches of solutions to multiparameter nonlinear equations

A general study of the dimension and connectivity properties of branches of solutions of equations depending on n-parameters are studied using the homotopy properties of 0-epi maps

Uptake of Antenatal Care Among Pregnant Women in Plateau State Nigeria

Background-Antenatal care offers pregnant women promotive, preventive and curative services. Despite this, some pregnant women still donrsquot access ANC at all while others donrsquot have access to ANC by skilled health care professionals. This increases the risk of maternal morbidity and mortality. This study therefore aims to determine the predictors of ANC attendance among in Plateau State. Methodology-A community based cross sectional study,400 study participants across six communities in the three senatorial zones in Plateau State were selected. Focused Group Discussion was conducted among study participants. Data was analysed using SPSS version 23. Results- 90.8% of respondents booked their last pregnancy out of which 55.8% had more than four ANC visits. Only 52.9% of the women had ANC by skilled health care providers. 69.7% of women who did not book their pregnancy delivered at home. Educational status, marital status and marital setting were predictors of ANC attendance among the study population. Women who had formal education were 1.7 times more likely to attend ANC compared to those with non-formal or no education at all. (P-value lt0.001 CI 1.267-2.321). Also, women in monogamous settings were more likely to attend ANC compared to those in polygamous setting (P-value 0.015 CI 0.162-0.822). Conclusion-Many of the respondents did not have the required number of ANC visits.nbsp More targeted interventions should be implemented in order to ensure that women have access to skilled care during pregnancy as this will reduce the risk of complications in pregnancy and delivery

On the structure of the set of bifurcation points of periodic solutions for multiparameter Hamiltonian systems

This paper deals with periodic solutions of the Hamilton equation with many parameters. Theorems on global bifurcation of solutions with periods $2\pi/j,$ $j\in\mathbb{N},$ from a stationary point are proved. The Hessian matrix of the Hamiltonian at the stationary point can be singular. However, it is assumed that the local topological degree of the gradient of the Hamiltonian at the stationary point is nonzero. It is shown that (global) bifurcation points of solutions with given periods can be identified with zeros of appropriate continuous functions on the space of parameters. Explicit formulae for such functions are given in the case when the Hessian matrix of the Hamiltonian at the stationary point is block-diagonal. Symmetry breaking results concerning bifurcation of solutions with different minimal periods are obtained. A geometric description of the set of bifurcation points is given. Examples of constructive application of the theorems proved to analytical and numerical investigation and visualization of the set of all bifurcation points in given domain are provided. This paper is based on a part of the author's thesis [W. Radzki, ``Branching points of periodic solutions of autonomous Hamiltonian systems'' (Polish), PhD thesis, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, Toru\'{n}, 2005].Comment: 35 pages, 4 figures, PDFLaTe

Inhibition of Y1 receptor signaling improves islet transplant outcome

Failure to secrete sufficient quantities of insulin is a pathological feature of type-1 and type-2 diabetes, and also reduces the success of islet cell transplantation. Here we demonstrate that Y1 receptor signaling inhibits insulin release in β-cells, and show that this can be pharmacologically exploited to boost insulin secretion. Transplanting islets with Y1 receptor deficiency accelerates the normalization of hyperglycemia in chemically induced diabetic recipient mice, which can also be achieved by short-term pharmacological blockade of Y1 receptors in transplanted mouse and human islets. Furthermore, treatment of non-obese diabetic mice with a Y1 receptor antagonist delays the onset of diabetes. Mechanistically, Y1 receptor signaling inhibits the production of cAMP in islets, which via CREB mediated pathways results in the down-regulation of several key enzymes in glycolysis and ATP production. Thus, manipulating Y1 receptor signaling in β-cells offers a unique therapeutic opportunity for correcting insulin deficiency as it occurs in the pathological state of type-1 diabetes as well as during islet transplantation.Islet transplantation is considered one of the potential treatments for T1DM but limited islet survival and their impaired function pose limitations to this approach. Here Loh et al. show that the Y1 receptor is expressed in β- cells and inhibition of its signalling, both genetic and pharmacological, improves mouse and human islet function.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Rapid-Onset Obesity with Hypothalamic Dysfunction, Hypoventilation, and Autonomic Dysregulation (ROHHAD): Exome sequencing of trios, monozygotic twins and tumours

BACKGROUND: Rapid-onset Obesity with Hypothalamic Dysfunction, Hypoventilation, and Autonomic Dysregulation (ROHHAD) is thought to be a genetic disease caused by de novo mutations, though causative mutations have yet to be identified. We searched for de novo coding mutations among a carefully-diagnosed and clinically homogeneous cohort of 35 ROHHAD patients. METHODS: We sequenced the exomes of seven ROHHAD trios, plus tumours from four of these patients and the unaffected monozygotic (MZ) twin of one (discovery cohort), to identify constitutional and somatic de novo sequence variants. We further analyzed this exome data to search for candidate genes under autosomal dominant and recessive models, and to identify structural variations. Candidate genes were tested by exome or Sanger sequencing in a replication cohort of 28 ROHHAD singletons. RESULTS: The analysis of the trio-based exomes found 13 de novo variants. However, no two patients had de novo variants in the same gene, and additional patient exomes and mutation analysis in the replication cohort did not provide strong genetic evidence to implicate any of these sequence variants in ROHHAD. Somatic comparisons revealed no coding differences between any blood and tumour samples, or between the two discordant MZ twins. Neither autosomal dominant nor recessive analysis yielded candidate genes for ROHHAD, and we did not identify any potentially causative structural variations. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical exome sequencing is highly unlikely to be a useful diagnostic test in patients with true ROHHAD. As ROHHAD has a high risk for fatality if not properly managed, it remains imperative to expand the search for non-exomic genetic risk factors, as well as to investigate other possible mechanisms of disease. In so doing, we will be able to confirm objectively the ROHHAD diagnosis and to contribute to our understanding of obesity, respiratory control, hypothalamic function, and autonomic regulation. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13023-015-0314-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Biosynthesis of Salmonella enterica [NiFe]-hydrogenase-5 : probing the roles of system-specific accessory proteins

A subset of bacterial [NiFe]-hydrogenases have been shown to be capable of activating dihydrogen-catalysis under aerobic conditions; however, it remains relatively unclear how the assembly and activation of these enzymes is carried out in the presence of air. Acquiring this knowledge is important if a generic method for achieving production of O2-resistant [NiFe]-hydrogenases within heterologous hosts is to be developed. Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium synthesizes the [NiFe]-hydrogenase-5 (Hyd-5) enzyme under aerobic conditions. As well as structural genes, the Hyd-5 operon also contains several accessory genes that are predicted to be involved in different stages of biosynthesis of the enzyme. In this work, deletions in the hydF, hydG, and hydH genes have been constructed. The hydF gene encodes a protein related to Ralstonia eutropha HoxO, which is known to interact with the small subunit of a [NiFe]-hydrogenase. HydG is predicted to be a fusion of the R. eutropha HoxQ and HoxR proteins, both of which have been implicated in the biosynthesis of an O2-tolerant hydrogenase, and HydH is a homologue of R. eutropha HoxV, which is a scaffold for [NiFe] cofactor assembly. It is shown here that HydG and HydH play essential roles in Hyd-5 biosynthesis. Hyd-5 can be isolated and characterized from a ΔhydF strain, indicating that HydF may not play the same vital role as the orthologous HoxO. This study, therefore, emphasises differences that can be observed when comparing the function of hydrogenase maturases in different biological systems

Microbial lineages in sarcoidosis. A metagenomic analysis tailored for low–microbial content samples

RATIONALE: The etiology of sarcoidosis is unknown, but microbial agents are suspected as triggers. OBJECTIVES: We sought to identify bacterial, fungal, or viral lineages in specimens from patients with sarcoidosis enriched relative to control subjects using metagenomic DNA sequencing. Because DNA from environmental contamination contributes disproportionately to samples with low authentic microbial content, we developed improved methods for filtering environmental contamination. METHODS: We analyzed specimens from subjects with sarcoidosis (n = 93), control subjects without sarcoidosis (n = 72), and various environmental controls (n = 150). Sarcoidosis specimens consisted of two independent sets of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded lymph node biopsies, BAL, Kveim reagent, and fresh granulomatous spleen from a patient with sarcoidosis. All specimens were analyzed by bacterial 16S and fungal internal transcribed spacer ribosomal RNA gene sequencing. In addition, BAL was analyzed by shotgun sequencing of fractions enriched for viral particles, and Kveim and spleen were subjected to whole-genome shotgun sequencing. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: In one tissue set, fungi in the Cladosporiaceae family were enriched in sarcoidosis compared with nonsarcoidosis tissues; in the other tissue set, we detected enrichment of several bacterial lineages in sarcoidosis but not Cladosporiaceae. BAL showed limited enrichment of Aspergillus fungi. Several microbial lineages were detected in Kveim and spleen, including Cladosporium. No microbial lineage was enriched in more than one sample type after correction for multiple comparisons. CONCLUSIONS: Metagenomic sequencing revealed enrichment of microbes in single types of sarcoidosis samples but limited concordance across sample types. Statistical analysis accounting for environmental contamination was essential to avoiding false positives

Moonraker -- Enceladus Multiple Flyby Mission

Enceladus, an icy moon of Saturn, possesses an internal water ocean and jets expelling ocean material into space. Cassini investigations indicated that the subsurface ocean could be a habitable environment having a complex interaction with the rocky core. Further investigation of the composition of the plume formed by the jets is necessary to fully understand the ocean, its potential habitability, and what it tells us about Enceladus' origin. Moonraker has been proposed as an ESA M-class mission designed to orbit Saturn and perform multiple flybys of Enceladus, focusing on traversals of the plume. The proposed Moonraker mission consists of an ESA-provided platform, with strong heritage from JUICE and Mars Sample Return, and carrying a suite of instruments dedicated to plume and surface analysis. The nominal Moonraker mission has a duration of 13.5 years. It includes a 23-flyby segment with 189 days allocated for the science phase, and can be expanded with additional segments if resources allow. The mission concept consists in investigating: i) the habitability conditions of present-day Enceladus and its internal ocean, ii) the mechanisms at play for the communication between the internal ocean and the surface of the South Polar Terrain, and iii) the formation conditions of the moon. Moonraker, thanks to state-of-the-art instruments representing a significant improvement over Cassini's payload, would quantify the abundance of key species in the plume, isotopic ratios, and physical parameters of the plume and the surface. Such a mission would pave the way for a possible future landed mission.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Planetary Science Journa