Computation of forces in strongly nonlinear magnetic fields using higher-order eggshell algorithm

A novel version of the eggshell-based procedure for numerical computation of magnetic forces and torques acting on ferromagnetic bodies in highly nonlinear magnetic fields is presented. The procedure works with a fully adaptive higher-order finite element method developed for years in our research group, that is implemented in own code Agros2D and library Hermes. The power of the methodology and both codes is demonstrated on the solution of two typical examples: computation of the static characteristic of a magnetic actuator and torque characteristic of a flux-switched permanent-magnet machine. The results obtained are compared with data calculated by several other available codes

Gravity on de-Sitter 3-Brane, Induced Einstein-Hilbert Term and Massless Gravitons

We study the extensions of DGP model which are described by five-dimensional Einstein gravity coupled covariantly to 3-brane with induced gravity term and consider warped D=4 de Sitter background field solutions on the brane. The case with included D=5 AdS cosmological term is also considered. Following background field method we obtain the field equations described by the Lagrangean terms bilinear in gravitational field. In such a linear field approximation on curved dS background we calculate explicitly the five-dimensional massive terms as well as the mass-like ones on the brane. We investigate the eigenvalue problem of Schr\"{o}dinger-like equation in fifth dimension for graviton masses and discuss the existence of massless as well as massive graviton modes in the bulk and on the brane without and with induced gravity.Comment: LaTeX 26 pages, the version which appears in Class. Quant. Gra

Enumeration of islets by nuclei counting and light microscopic analysis

Author Manuscript 2011 May 1.Islet enumeration in impure preparations by conventional dithizone staining and visual counting is inaccurate and operator dependent. We examined nuclei counting for measuring the total number of cells in islet preparations, and we combined it with morphological analysis by light microscopy (LM) for estimating the volume fraction of islets in impure preparations. Cells and islets were disrupted with lysis solution and shear, and accuracy of counting successively diluted nuclei suspensions was verified with (1) visual counting in a hemocytometer after staining with crystal violet, and automatic counting by (2) aperture electrical resistance measurement and (3) flow cytometer measurement after staining with 7-aminoactinomycin-D. DNA content averaged 6.5 and 6.9 pg of DNA per cell for rat and human islets, respectively, in agreement with literature estimates. With pure rat islet preparations, precision improved with increasing counts, and samples with about greater than or equal to 160 islets provided a coefficient of variation of about 6%. Aliquots of human islet preparations were processed for LM analysis by stereological point counting. Total nuclei counts and islet volume fraction from LM analysis were combined to obtain the number of islet equivalents (IEs). Total number of IE by the standard method of dithizone staining/manual counting was overestimated by about 90% compared with LM/nuclei counting for 12 freshly isolated human islet research preparations. Nuclei counting combined with islet volume fraction measurements from LM is a novel method for achieving accurate islet enumeration.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant NCRR ICR U4Z 16606)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant R01-DK063108-01A1)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant NCRR ICR U42 RR0023244-01)Joslin Diabetes and Endocrinology Research Center (Grant DK36836)Diabetes Research & Wellness FoundationJuvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International (Islet Transplantation, Harvard Medical School

A whole-genome shotgun approach for assembling and anchoring the hexaploid bread wheat genome

Citation: Chapman, J. A., Mascher, M., Buluç, A., Barry, K., Georganas, E., Session, A., . . . Rokhsar, D. S. (2015). A whole-genome shotgun approach for assembling and anchoring the hexaploid bread wheat genome. Genome Biology, 16(1). doi:10.1186/s13059-015-0582-8Polyploid species have long been thought to be recalcitrant to whole-genome assembly. By combining high-throughput sequencing, recent developments in parallel computing, and genetic mapping, we derive, de novo, a sequence assembly representing 9.1 Gbp of the highly repetitive 16 Gbp genome of hexaploid wheat, Triticum aestivum, and assign 7.1 Gb of this assembly to chromosomal locations. The genome representation and accuracy of our assembly is comparable or even exceeds that of a chromosome-by-chromosome shotgun assembly. Our assembly and mapping strategy uses only short read sequencing technology and is applicable to any species where it is possible to construct a mapping population. © 2015 Chapman et al. licensee BioMed Central.Additional Authors: Muehlbauer, G. J.;Stein, N.;Rokhsar, D. S

Prehabilitation during neoadjuvant therapy in patients with cancer of the upper gastrointestinal tract and rectum—the study protocol

2025 Chmelova, Pastucha, Hudecek, Guran, Ciecotkova, Mart\uednek, Zubikova, Matlova, Dolezel, Salounova and Chmelo. Aims: The concept of prehabilitation, defined as interventions aimed at enhancing a patient\u27s functional capacity prior to an impending physiological stressor, may contribute to reduced postoperative morbidity and mortality. The study\u27s goal is to verify or refute the feasibility of a prehabilitation programme for two diagnostic patient groups during neoadjuvant chemo(radio)therapy, which is prescribed before the scheduled surgical procedure. This is a single group study design, with all patients enrolled receiving the intervention. Methods: This is an interventional feasibility study of a prehabilitation programme in the form of physical training conducted at home. The training consists of progressively dosed walking and strength exercises for selected muscle groups. Data will be monitored telemetrically and also through telephone contact with participants. Primary outcomes include: the percentage of patients interested in participating in the study out of all patients indicated for neoadjuvant therapy at University Hospital Ostrava during the observed period, the percentage of patients who complete the prehabilitation programme until the date of surgery and individual patient compliance. Secondary outcomes include physical fitness parameters obtained from cardiopulmonary exercise testing, grip strength measured by a dynamometer, changes in body composition, EORTC QLQ-C30 quality of life questionnaire, and a questionnaire on the subjective perception of the exercise programme. Both primary and secondary outcomes will be compared between study arms (two diagnostic groups). The study is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, ID: NCT05646043. Conclusion: The results of this study can serve as a foundation for larger, multicentre, controlled studies in the future

Структура и твердость титанового сплава ВТ6, изготовленного методом аддитивных технологий

Работа посвящена новой отрасли производства и материаловедения – исследованию материалов, полученных методами аддитивного производства. Целью данной работы являлось сравнительный анализ различий в структуре, механических свойствах и взаимодействии с водородом титанового сплава ВТ6, полученного традиционным методом и методом аддитивного производства (EBM). В работе получены результаты, свидетельствующие об отличии свойств материалов, полученных традиционными методами и методами аддитивного производства.The work is devoted to a new branch of production and materials science - the study of materials obtained by additive production methods. The purpose of this work was a comparative analysis of differences in the structure, mechanical properties and interaction with hydrogen of a titanium alloy VT6 obtained by the traditional method and the additive production method (EBM). The results obtained in the work indicate the difference between the properties of materials obtained by traditional methods and additive production methods

A lineage-specific Exo70 is required for receptor kinase-mediated immunity in barley

In the evolution of land plants, the plant immune system has experienced expansion in immune receptor and signaling pathways. Lineage-specific expansions have been observed in diverse gene families that are potentially involved in immunity but lack causal association. Here, we show that Rps8-mediated resistance in barley to the pathogen Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (wheat stripe rust) is conferred by a genetic module: Pur1 and Exo70FX12, which are together necessary and sufficient. Pur1 encodes a leucine-rich repeat receptor kinase and is the ortho-log of rice Xa21, and Exo70FX12 belongs to the Poales-specific Exo70FX clade. The Exo70FX clade emerged after the divergence of the Bromeliaceae and Poaceae and comprises from 2 to 75 members in sequenced grasses. These results demonstrate the requirement of a lineage-specific Exo70FX12 in Pur1-mediated immunity and sug-gest that the Exo70FX clade may have evolved a specialized role in receptor kinase signalin

Common and Distinct Roles of Juvenile Hormone Signaling Genes in Metamorphosis of Holometabolous and Hemimetabolous Insects

Insect larvae metamorphose to winged and reproductive adults either directly (hemimetaboly) or through an intermediary pupal stage (holometaboly). In either case juvenile hormone (JH) prevents metamorphosis until a larva has attained an appropriate phase of development. In holometabolous insects, JH acts through its putative receptor Methoprene-tolerant (Met) to regulate Krüppel-homolog 1 (Kr-h1) and Broad-Complex (BR-C) genes. While Met and Kr-h1 prevent precocious metamorphosis in pre-final larval instars, BR-C specifies the pupal stage. How JH signaling operates in hemimetabolous insects is poorly understood. Here, we compare the function of Met, Kr-h1 and BR-C genes in the two types of insects. Using systemic RNAi in the hemimetabolous true bug, Pyrrhocoris apterus, we show that Met conveys the JH signal to prevent premature metamorphosis by maintaining high expression of Kr-h1. Knockdown of either Met or Kr-h1 (but not of BR-C) in penultimate-instar Pyrrhocoris larvae causes precocious development of adult color pattern, wings and genitalia. A natural fall of Kr-h1 expression in the last larval instar normally permits adult development, and treatment with an exogenous JH mimic methoprene at this time requires both Met and Kr-h1 to block the adult program and induce an extra larval instar. Met and Kr-h1 therefore serve as JH-dependent repressors of deleterious precocious metamorphic changes in both hemimetabolous and holometabolous juveniles, whereas BR-C has been recruited for a new role in specifying the holometabolous pupa. These results show that despite considerable evolutionary distance, insects with diverse developmental strategies employ a common-core JH signaling pathway to commit to adult morphogenesis

Cytological and molecular characterization for ploidy determination in yams (Dioscorea spp.)

Open Access Journal; Published online: 22 Sep 2021Yam (Dioscorea spp.) is a monocotyledonous herbaceous vine plant grown in the tropics and subtropics. It is a multi-species plant with varied intra- and interspecific ploidy levels. Of the 600 species, 11 are cultivated supporting the livelihood of over 300 million people. The paucity of information on ploidy and the genomic constitution is a significant challenge to the crop’s genetic improvement through crossbreeding. The objective of this study was to investigate the ploidy levels of 236 accessions across six cultivated and two wild species using chromosome counting, flow cytometry and genotyping-based ploidy determination methods. Results obtained from chromosome counting and genotyping-based ploidy determination were in agreement. In majority of the accessions, chromosome counting and flow cytometry were congruent, allowing future rapid screening of ploidy levels using flow cytometry. Among cultivated accessions, 168 (71%) were diploid, 50 (21%) were triploid, and 12 (5%) were tetraploid. Two wild species included in the study were diploids. Resolution of ploidy level in yams offers opportunities for implementing successful breeding programmes through intra- and interspecific hybridization