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An extension of slant Hankel operator, namely, the k-th-order λ-slant Hankel operator on the Lebesgue space L 2 (T n) , where T is the unit circle and n ≥ 1, a natural number, is described in terms of the solution of a system of operator equations, which is subsequently expressed in terms of the product of a slant Hankel operator and a unitary operator. The study is further lifted in Calkin algebra in terms of essentially k-th-order λ-slant Hankel operators on L 2 (T n) . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper the notion of slantification of a Hankel operator on the space H 2 (T n) , the Hardy space of n-torus, is introduced. Various properties including hyponormality, isometric behaviour, co-isometric behaviour and compactness of these operators are also studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We introduce a k th-order slant Hankel operator on the Lebesgue space of n-torus, for k = (k 1 , ... , k n) , where each k t ≥ 1 , (1 ≤ t ≤ n) is an integer. Our main result is to obtain equivalent characterizations for a bounded operator on L 2 (T n) to be a k th-order slant Hankel operator. We also discuss various commutative, spectral and other properties of these operators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tight control of gene regulation in dendritic cells (DCs) is important to mount pathogen specific immune responses. Apart from transcription factor binding, dynamic regulation of enhancer activity through global transcriptional repressors like Nuclear Receptor Co-repressor 1 (NCoR1) plays a major role in fine-tuning of DC responses. However, how NCoR1 regulates enhancer activity and gene expression in individual or multiple Toll-like receptor (TLR) activation in DCs is largely unknown. In this study, we did a comprehensive epigenomic analysis of murine conventional type-I DCs (cDC1) across different TLR ligation conditions. We profiled gene expression changes along with H3K27ac active enhancers and NCoR1 binding in the TLR9, TLR3 and combined TLR9 + TLR3 activated cDC1. We observed spatio-temporal activity of TLR9 and TLR3 specific enhancers regulating signal specific target genes. Interestingly, we found that NCoR1 differentially controls the TLR9 and TLR3-specific responses. NCoR1 depletion specifically enhanced TLR9 responses as evident from increased enhancer activity as well as TLR9-specific gene expression, whereas TLR3-mediated antiviral response genes were negatively regulated. We validated that NCoR1 KD cDC1 showed significantly decreased TLR3 specific antiviral responses through decreased IRF3 activation. In addition, decreased IRF3 binding was observed at selected ISGs leading to their decreased expression upon NCoR1 depletion. Consequently, the NCoR1 depleted cDC1 showed reduced Sendai Virus (SeV) clearance and cytotoxic potential of CD8+ T cells upon TLR3 activation. NCoR1 directly controls the majority of these TLR specific enhancer activity and the gene expression. Overall, for the first time, we revealed NCoR1 mediates transcriptional control towards TLR9 as compared to TLR3 in cDC1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disorder of unknown etiology with aberrant immunological responses leading to inflammation, swelling and pain of the joints. CD8+ T cells have been known to be one of the major immune modulators in the progression of RA and the presence of toll-like receptors (TLRs) on these cells further accentuate their role in RA. Herein, we report an increased expression of TLR7 in the endosomes of CD8+ T cells of RA patients correlating with disease severity. The stimulation of TLR7 with Imiquimod (IMQ) in these CD8+ T cells drives the signalling cascade via NFkB and pERK activation and hence an increase in the mRNA transcripts of signature cytokines and cytolytic enzymes. However, a parallel synthesis of Tristetraprolin (TTP), an mRNA destabilizing protein prevents the translation of the mRNA transcripts, leading to a rapid degeneration of the target mRNA. We thus report that a direct TLR7 ligation by its agonist increases cytokine transcript signature but not an equivalent protein surge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem investigating the motion of waves leading to shocks in a non ideal gas under the influence of magnetic pressure in plane, cylindrical and spherical flow configurations using the singular surface theory is studied. A Bernoulli type transport equation depicting the nonlinear coupling between the induced discontinuity and the flow behind, is obtained. The effects of van der Waals excluded volume and magnetic pressure are observed closely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we generalize the concept of asymptotic Hankel operators on H 2 (D) to the Hardy space H 2 (D n) (over polydisk) in terms of asymptotic Hankel and partial asymptotic Hankel operators and investigate some properties in case of its weak and strong convergence. Meanwhile, we introduce ith-partial Hankel operators on H 2 (D n) and obtain a characterization of its compactness for n > 1. Our main results include the containment of Toeplitz algebra in the collection of all strong partial asymptotic Hankel operators on H 2 (D n) . It is also shown that a Toeplitz operator with symbol ϕ is asymptotic Hankel if and only if ϕ is holomorphic function in L ∞ (T n) . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Osteoarthritis of the knee causes significant disability amongst the elderly, and total knee replacement remains the only effective intervention for pain relief and functional improvement. Using data from single military healthcare institutional records in India, we estimated the utilization rates of total knee replacement by age, gender and rank profile. Methods: All the data were retrieved manually from institutional records as the institutional databases are yet to be digitized. The information on the study subjects was retrospectively retrieved from the records of the Department of Orthopaedics from the year 1997 to 2012. Trends were estimated by using two 6-year periods separated by a decade, i.e. 1997-2002 and 2007-2012. We estimated age-, gender- and rank-specific rates of TKR utilization in these years. Results: From 1997 to 2002, 37 TKRs were performed as compared to 800 during 2007-2012, showing a more than 20 times increase. During 1997-2002, the mean age was 62.6 years (SD-9.224) compared to 65.8 years (SD-7.05). There was significant disparity in TKR utilization rates on the basis of rank with officers and their dependent, showing much higher utilization rates in both year groups which is possibly explained by the higher level of awareness about the procedure, higher education levels and higher acceptability of the procedure by the officers as compared to PBORs. The rate of TKR was marginally higher amongst women as compared to men. Conclusion: The TKR utilization rates have increased tremendously over a decade. In view of this huge increase, future planning is essential to enable optimal material and human resource allocation as well as training to meet future challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective(s): The objective of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of CEE, tibolone, and DHEA for prevention of menopausal symptoms. Method(s): One hundred patients with surgical menopause were included in this study: 25 of whom were not treated with any HRT, 25 were treated with 0.625 mg of CEE, 25 were treated with 2.5 mg of tibolone, and 25 were treated with 25 mg of DHEA for 1 year, and the results were statistically analyzed regarding drug efficacy and side effects at follow-up periods of 1, 6 and 12 months. Result(s): Frequency of menopausal symptoms was significantly less in cases received with CEE, tibolone, DHEA with p values 0.001, 0.004 and 0.004, respectively. Percentage gain in BMD was 2.8 % with CEE at lumbar spine, which was greater than that caused by DHEA and tibolone, but this difference was not statistically significant. CEE caused side effects like headache (40 %) and nausea (28 %). Conclusion(s): CEE, Tibolone, and DHEA are very effective in alleviating climacteric symptoms. CEE has beneficial effects on lipid and bone and is a low-cost drug but frequently causes side effects. Tibolone offers beneficial androgenic effects on mood and libido with fewer side effects but is a costly drug. DHEA shows positive effects on psychological symptoms. However, its cost and androgenic side effects limit its use as long-term HRT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

meloblastoma is a locally aggressive benign epithelial odontogenic tumor, while unicystic ameloblastoma is a relatively less aggressive variant. Although rare in unicystic or cystic ameloblastoma, granular cell change in ameloblastoma is a recognized phenomenon. The purpose of the present article is to report a case of cystic granular cell ameloblastoma in 34-year old female. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liposomes, modified with monoclonal antibodies, are suitable carriers for targeted delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs into brain tumors. Here, we investigate the therapeutic efficacy of monoclonal anticancer antibody 2C5-modified long-circulating liposomes (LCL) loaded with doxorubicin (2C5-DoxLCL) for the treatment of U-87 MG human brain tumors in an intracranial model in nude mice. In vitro, 2C5-DoxLCL is significantly more effective in killing the U-87 MG tumor cells than Doxil® (commercial doxorubicin-loaded PEGylated LCL) or DoxLCL modified with a non-specific IgG. 2C5-immunoliposomes also demonstrate a significantly higher accumulation in U-87 MG tumors compared to all controls in a subcutaneous model. The treatment of intracranial U-87 MG brain tumors in nude mice with 2C5-DoxLCL provides a significant therapeutic benefit over control formulations, substantially reducing the tumor size and almost doubling the survival time. Thus, monoclonal antibody 2C5-modified LCL can specifically target the anticancer drugs to brain tumors, leading to improved therapeutic treatment of brain tumor in an intracranial model, in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Altered glycosylation of plasma proteins has been directly implicated in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The present study investigated the changes in the Concanavalin-A (Con-A)-bound plasma proteins in the RA patients in comparison to that of the healthy controls. Two proteins (MW ∼32 kDa and ∼62 kDa) showed an alteration in expression while an altered monosaccharide profile (high mannose) was observed in the ∼62 kDa protein in the samples collected from RA patients. The 2-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis of the Con-A-bound plasma samples showed a large number of protein spots, a few of which were differentially expressed in the RA patients. Some unidentified proteins were detected in the RA patients which were absent in the control samples. The present study, therefore, enunciates the role of carbohydrates as well as that of the acute phase response in the disease pathogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single nucleotide polymorphisms in the mannose-binding lectin (MBL2) gene, as well as the serum MBL2 level, have been associated with various autoimmune diseases. We investigated whether such polymorphisms and/or the serum MBL2 level were associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in an Indian population. The frequency of the B variant (codon 54) of the MBL2 gene was quite frequent in the healthy Indian population and was significantly ( P=6.35×10−6) lower in RA patients. We replicated this association ( P=1.78×10−5) in an independent cohort of control individuals. Promoter polymorphism at −550 nt showed a significant overrepresentation ( P=0.003) of the minor allele G in severe RA patients compared with the less severe group. Haplotype LYA frequency was significantly ( P=0.03) high in the less severe group, while the frequency of the HYA haplotype was significantly ( P=0.04) increased in the severe RA patients. No statistically significant difference in serum MBL2 was observed as a whole, but the individuals homozygous for the LYA haplotype had significantly lower ( P=0.017) serum MBL2 levels compared with individuals homozygous for the HYA haplotype. Therefore, the B variant of the MBL2 gene may be associated with protection from RA in our study population, and the promoter polymorphism (−550 nt) seems to have some role in disease progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]