PurposeClinical trials have commenced to evaluate the feasibility of targeting malignant gliomas with genetically engineered cytolytic T-cells (CTLs) delivered directly...Full Text Available
BackgroundSensitization to house dust mite allergens is strongly correlated with asthma. Der p 7 elicits strong IgE antibody and T-cellresponses in mite allergic...Full Text Available
We studied the effect of booster injections and the long-term immuneresponse after injections of an anti-human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) lipopeptide vaccine. This vaccine was injected alone...Full Text Available
BackgroundHIV infection causes a qualitative and quantitative loss of CD4+ Tcellimmunity. The institution of anti-retroviral therapy (ART) restores CD4+ T...Full Text Available
Immune function is critical in health and disease. The control and regulation of immune reactions is an area of intense investigation that has important implications for allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. Immune reactions are regulated in a number of important ways. Compartmentalization of immuneresponses and the production of both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines play a major role. More recently several populations of T cells that regulate immuneresponses termed regulatory T cells have been identified. This manuscript will focus on CD4^+CD25^+FoxP3^+ natural regulatory T cells (T"r"e"g) and @a@bTCR^+CD4^+NK1.1^+ natural killer T (NK-T) cells which both suppress graft vs host disease but appear to function by distinct mechanisms.
BackgroundThe differentiation of CD8+ T lymphocytes following priming of naïve cells is central in the establishment of the adaptive immuneresponse. Yet, the...Full Text Available
We carried out a feeding study in rats aimed at extending our aboservations of contaminant-induced immunosuppression in harbour seals. Two herring batches were freeze-dried, supplemented and fed to female adult PVG rats for a period of 4 1/2 months. Daily contaminant intakes of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) toxic equivalents (TEQ) were estimated to be 0.3 ng/kg body weight and 1.6 ng/kg in the Atlantic and Baltic groups, respectively. At the end of the feeding experiment, no contaminant-related changes in spleen CD{sub 4}{sup +}/CD{sub 8}{sup +} cellularity, natural killer cell activity, or mitogen-induced proliferative responses of thymus or spleen cells could be detected. However, total thymocyte numbers and thymus CD{sub 4}{sup +}/CD{sub 8}{sup +} ratios were reduced in the Baltic group. A novel model was established to assess the specific T-cellresponse to rat cytomegalovirus (RCMV). When applied to the ...
Activation of the innate immune system results in a rapid microbicidal response against microorganisms, which needs to be fine-tuned because uncontrolled immuneresponses can lead to infection and cancer,...Full Text Available
In this report we define the parameters of the human immuneresponse after immunization with hepatitis B vaccine. 2 wk after booster immunization, there is significant spontaneous secretion of antibody...Full Text Available
Although the initiating factor(s) is unknown, it is now accepted that pulmonary sarcoidosis develops as a result of an over-stimulated local cellular immuneresponse. Starting as a lymphocytic alveolitis,...Full Text Available
A recent clinical trial of a T-cell-based AIDS vaccine delivered with recombinant adenovirus type 5 (rAd5) vectors showed no efficacy in lowering viral load and was associated with increased risk of...Full Text Available
Autoreactive cytotoxic CD8 T-cells (CTLs) play a key pathogenic role in the destruction of insulin-producing beta-cells resulting in type 1 diabetes. However, knowledge regarding their targets is limited, restricting the ability to monitor the course of the disease and immune interventions. In a multi-step discovery process to identify novel CTL epitopes in human preproinsulin (PPI), PPI was digested with purified human proteasomes, and resulting COOH-fragments aligned with algorithm-predicted HLA-binding peptides to yield nine potential HLA-A1, -A2, -A3 or -B7-restricted candidates. An UV-exchange method allowed the generation of a repertoire of multimers including low-affinity HLA-binding peptides. These were labeled with quantum dot-fluorochromes and encoded in a combinatorial fashion, allowing parallel and sensitive detection of specific, low-avidity T-cells. Significantly increased frequencies of ...
BackgroundNaturally acquired immuneresponses against sexual stages of P. falciparum can reduce the transmission of malaria from humans to mosquitoes. These antigens...Full Text Available
A highly purified preparation of double-stranded RNA, obtained from virus-like particles in Penicillium cultures, was found to affert humoral immuneresponses in mice differentially depending on its...Full Text Available
SUMMARYDendritic cells (DCs) in mucosal surfaces are early targets for human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1). DCs mount rapid and robust immuneresponses upon pathogen encounter....Full Text Available
ABSTRACTThe immuneresponse to Neisseria gonorrhoeae is poorly understood, but its extensive antigenic variability and resistance to complement are thought to allow it...Full Text Available
The study of blocking factors requires in vitro assay of cell mediated immunity that parallels the in vivo response. By microcytotoxicity testing, progressor and immune peripheral blood lymphocytes...Full Text Available
BackgroundMacrophages (MΦs) utilize macropinocytosis to integrate immune and metabolic signals in order to initiate an effective immuneresponse. Diabetes is characterized...Full Text Available
The influence of an immobilization stressor on lung cellular immuneresponses was studied. Delayed-type hypersensitivity to sheep erythrocytes was used to evaluate in vivo lung cellular immunity. Mice...Full Text Available
Approximately 30% of foxes given two doses of an inactivated rabies antigen delivered directly into the intestinal tract developed an immuneresponse as measured by rabies serum neutralizing antibodies....Full Text Available
BackgroundAntigen sparing and cross-protective immunity are regarded as crucial in pandemic influenza vaccine development. Both targets can be achieved by adjuvantation strategy...Full Text Available
Innate immuneresponses are regulated by microorganisms and cell death, as well as by a third class of stress signal from the nervous and endocrine systems. The innate immune system also feeds back, through the production of cytokines, to regulate the function of the central nervous system (CNS), and this has effects on behaviour. These signals provide an extrinsic regulatory circuit that links physiological, social and environmental conditions, as perceived by the CNS, with transcriptional 'decision-making' in leukocytes. CNS-mediated regulation of innate immuneresponses optimizes total organism fitness and provides new opportunities for therapeutic control of chronic infectious, inflammatory and neuropsychiatric diseases.
Cytokines produced by Th2 cells are responsible for the pathogenesis of asthma. Th1-biased immuneresponses caused by attenuated salmonella have the potential to relieve asthmatic symptoms. We evaluated...Full Text Available
BackgroundTacrolimus (FK-506) is an immunosuppressant that binds to a specific immunophilin, resulting in the suppression of the cellular immuneresponse during transplant rejection....Full Text Available
The need for agents designed to modify immuneresponse in the treatment of patients with viral infection, immunodeficiency, or cancer prompted the present study on the mechanisms of action of isoprinosine,...Full Text Available
The immune system modulates many key biological processes in humans. However, the exact role of the immune system in particle-associated periprosthetic osteolysis is controversial. Human tissue retrieval studies, in vivo and in vitro experiments suggest that the immuneresponse to polymer particles is non-specific and macrophage-mediated. Lymphocytes may modulate this response. However direct lymphocyte activation by polymer particle-protein complexes seems unlikely. However, metallic byproducts may complex with serum proteins and lead to a Type IV, lymphocyte-mediated immune reaction. In predisposed individuals, this reaction may rarely lead to persistent painful joint effusions, necessitating debridement and excision of the bearing surfaces of the prosthesis. In these patients, retrieved...
Elite suppressors or controllers (ES) are HIV-1 infected patients who maintain undetectable viral loads without treatment. While HLA-B*57-positive ES are usually infected with virus that is unmutated...Full Text Available
The effect of abatacept, a selective T-cell co-stimulation modulator, on vaccination has not been previously investigated. In this open-label, single-dose, randomized, parallel-group, controlled study,...Full Text Available
TH1 cytokine secretion was examined in response to synthetic peptides of the 85A component of the major secreted, fibronectin-binding antigen 85 complex from Mycobacterium tuberculosis in seven different...Full Text Available
Testosterone has bipotential effects on male fitness; that is, it both suppresses immune function and maintains characteristics important for reproductive success. Presumably, these effects of testosterone may be more pronounced among polygynous species because testosterone concentrations are generally higher among polygynous than monogamous males. The present study examined sex and species differences in cell-mediated immunity among four arvicoline rodents. The role of mating system and sex steroids in sex differences in immune function was examined in individually housed polygynous meadow (Microtus pennsylvanicus) and montane (M. montanus) voles and monogamous prairie (M. ochrogaster) and pine (M. pinetorum) voles in Experiment 1. No sex differences in splenocyte proliferation were observed among the four species and circulating testosterone concentrations did not correlate with immune function of ...
Three in vivo assays were used to measure the immunocompetence of chickens in two generations of a selection experiment. The obtained data were used to estimate the variance components for sire and dam for antibody production to Pasteurella multocida and Mycoplasma gallisepticum vaccines, for T-cell-mediated immunity evaluated by a phytohemagglutinin wing web assay, and for clearance of foreign particles from the circulatory system. Heritabilities of and genetic correlations among these immunological traits were calculated from the sire variance components. Heritability estimates of the immunological traits based on the sire component of variance ranged from .06 to .53, and genetic correlations among immunological traits were generally negative. PMID:1956847
Adenovirus vaccine vectors derived from rare human serotypes have been shown to be less potent than serotype 5 (Ad5) at inducing immuneresponses to encoded antigens. To identify highly immunogenic...Full Text Available
Dendritic cells (DC) are the most potent antigen-presenting cells and play a central role in the induction of antiviral immuneresponses. Recently, we have shown that monocyte-derived DC (MoDC) from...Full Text Available
The specific binding of transcription factors to cognate sequence elements is thought to be critical for the generation of specific gene expression programs. Members of the nuclear factor κB...Full Text Available
Naturally occurring, double-stranded RNA (ds-RNA)) was immunogenic when injected into mice, rats, guinea-pigs, rabbits, dogs and baboons. The response to native material administered intravenously (i.v.)...Full Text Available
Lumbricus terrestris (Annelid, Oligocheta) is capable of cellular- and humoral-specific reactions against natural antigens. Is this earthworm able to elaborate a response of antibody type against a...Full Text Available
In a series of experiments carried out on young and adult rabbits the effect of isocaloric low protein diets containing 4% or 8% protein compared with a diet containing 21% protein on Obeliscoides cuniculi infection was studied. The pathogenesis, resistance and local immunity were assessed after single infections with 10,000 larvae or reinfection with 5000 larvae. Live weight gain was reduced in young and adult rabbits fed the low protein diets, but the establishment of parasites was not substantially influenced by protein deprivation. However, development of worms in the histotrophic phase and parasite fecundity were impaired in association with the low protein diet. Moreover, mild anaemia as well as changes in the mucosal immuneresponse as a result of infection were related to the level of dietary protein. (author). 30 refs, 6 figs, 5 tabs.
We hypothesize that the mushroom-derived active compound may be a potential strategy for increasing survival in response to influenza virus (H1N1) infection through the stimulation of host innate immuneresponse. The validity of the hypothesis can be tested by immuneresponse to influenza infection as seen through survival percentage, virus clearance, weight loss, natural killer cell cytotoxicity, Tumor Necrosis Factor-? (TNF-?) and Interferon-gamma (IFN-?) levels, lytic efficiency in the spleens of mice and inducible nitric oxide synthase mRNA expressions in RAW 264.7 murine macrophage cells. The hypothesis may improve people's quality of life, reduce the medical cost of our healthcare system and eliminate people's fears of influenza outbreak. PMID:21660092
Ten children receiving maintenance dialysis were immunized with the standard dose of measles-mumps-rubella vaccine between 15 and 33 months of age. Immuneresponses to vaccination were determined using commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for measles, mumps, and rubella viruses. Eight children responded to measles vaccine, 5 to mumps vaccine, 8 to rubella vaccine, and only 3 children to all three vaccines, compared with a seroconversion rate of over 90% to all three vaccines in healthy children (P less than 0.0001). We contend that the relatively poor immunocompetence of our dialysis patients explains their less than optimal vaccine response and suggest that children vaccinated while undergoing dialysis be tested to confirm serological evidence of immunity. PMID:1571219
The objective of this study was to determine if genistein (GEN) modulation of the immuneresponses might contribute to the increased host resistances to tumors. A time-course study was performed...Full Text Available
PURPOSE: To determine the frequency of ophthalmic abnormalities in patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (mycosis fungoides and Sézary syndrome) and T-cell lymphoma involving the skin and...Full Text Available
A better understanding of the immune processes in the pathogenesis and progression of prostate cancer (CaP) may point the way towards improved treatment modalities. The challenge is to amplify immuneresponses to combat tumour escape mechanisms. Infection and inflammation may have a role in prostate carcinogenesis, including the newly discovered xenotropic murine leukaemia virus (XMRV). These inflammatory states damage defence mechanisms and induce a high proliferative state favouring further mutation and impaired immune surveillance. With this knowledge we are able to explore the use of immunotherapy to rejuvenate the immune system in combating CaP. Recently Sipuleucel-T, an immunotherapeutic agent for metastatic androgen independent CaP, has resulted in improved survival and might be the...
In the paper we investigate a mathematical model describing the growth of tumor in the presence of immuneresponse of a host organism. The dynamics of tumour and immune cells is based on the generic Michaelis-Menten kinetics describing interaction and competition between the tumour and the immune system. The appropriate phenomenological equation modeling cell-mediated immune surveillance against cancer is of the predator-prey form and within a given choice of parameters exhibits bistability. Under the influence of spontaneous weak fluctuations, the model may be analyzed in terms of a stochastic differential equation bearing the form of an overdamped Langevin-like dynamics in the external quasi-potential represented by a double well. We analyze properties of the system within the range of parameters for which the potential wells are of the same depth and when the additional ...
A semiquantitative assay was developed and used to measure the effects of immuneresponses against 16 independent non-H-2 antigenic loci on erythropoietic stem cells. The assay compares repopulation in genetically anemic WBB6F1-W/Wv recipients that have normal immuneresponses, and in lethally irradiated WBB6F1 +/+ mice whose immuneresponses are suppressed by the irradiation. The differences in repopulating ability between these two types of recipients measure how immuneresponses affect erythropoietic stem cells. Stem cell repopulating abilities for the cells with antigens specified by the Thy-1, H-1, H-24, Ly-1, H-37, and H-17 loci were affected slightly, if at all. Repopulating abilities were moderately reduced by responses against antigens specified by H-15, 16, Ea-2, and Ly-2, 3 loci, and ...
The central nervous system regulates peripheral immuneresponses via the vagus nerve, the primary neural component of the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway. Electrical stimulation of the...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe dynorphin-kappa opioid receptor (KOR) system regulates glial proliferation after sciatic nerve injury. Here, we investigated its role in cell proliferation following...Full Text Available
Recognition of HIV-1 ssRNA by TLR7 induces the production of the pro-inflammatory cytokines that may contribute to the systemic immune activation associated with HIV-1 disease progression. Here...Full Text Available
BackgroundSurrogate immunologic markers for natural and vaccine-mediated protection against tuberculosis (TB) have not been identified.MethodsHIV-infected...Full Text Available
The CNS can exhibit features of inflammation in response to injury, infection or disease, whereby resident cells generate inflammatory mediators, including cytokines, prostaglandins, free radicals and...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe binding of peptide fragments of antigens to class II MHC is a crucial step in initiating a helper T cell immuneresponse. The identification of such peptide epitopes...Full Text Available
Silver-haired bat rabies virus (SHBRV) infection induces a strong virus-specific immuneresponse in the periphery of the host, but death is common due to the failure to open the blood-brain barrier...Full Text Available
Since a large body of data has suggested a significant role for alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in the regulation of the immuneresponse at a number of levels, we examined the possibility of a specific receptor...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe VP2 outer capsid protein Bluetongue Virus (BTV) is responsible for receptor binding, haemagglutination and eliciting host-specific immunity. However, the assembly of...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe immunoregulatory enzyme indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase, which catalyzes the conversion of tryptophan into kynurenine, is expressed in a significant subset of patients...Full Text Available
BackgroundMastitis in dairy cattle results from infection of mammary tissue by a range of micro-organisms but principally coliform bacteria and Gram positive bacteria such as Staphylococcus...Full Text Available
Ethnopharmacological relevanceHLXL is a traditional Chinese medicine that has long been used in folk medicine for the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases....Full Text Available
Purpose of reviewSevere congenital neutropenia (SCN) is a primary immunodeficiency in which lack of neutrophils causes inadequate innate immune host response to bacterial...Full Text Available
Dectin-1, the major β-glucan receptor in leukocytes, triggers an effective immuneresponse upon fungal recognition. Here we use sortase-mediated transpeptidation, a technique that allows placement...Full Text Available
BackgroundSeveral diseases, many of which nowadays pandemic, consist of multifactorial pathologies. Paradigmatic examples come from the immuneresponse to pathogens, in which cases...Full Text Available
B lymphocytes can function independently as efficient APCs. However, our previous studies demonstrate that both dendritic cells and macrophages are necessary to propagate immuneresponses initiated...Full Text Available
Background. It is currently recommended that diet of pregnant mothers contain 200–300 mg DHA/day. Aim. To determine whether DHA supplementation...Full Text Available
During the anamnestic response, the sera of four rabbits immunized with a polyvalent pneumococcal vaccine contained large amounts of cryoglobulins belonging to the G and M immunoglobulin classes. These...Full Text Available
BackgroundMammalian antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are effectors of the innate immuneresponse. A multitude of signals coming from pathways of mammalian pathogen/pattern recognition...Full Text Available
BackgroundMost rapidly evolving gene families are involved in immuneresponses and reproduction, two biological functions which have been assigned to the carcinoembryonic antigen...Full Text Available
The cell types involved in the cellular immuneresponse were studied with the GVH in vitro as a test system. Comparison of the activities of cells of different lymphoid organs in the...Full Text Available
In the cellular immuneresponse, recognition by CTL-TCRs of viral antigens presented as peptides by HLA class I molecules, triggers destruction of the virally infected cell (Townsend, A.R.M., J. Rothbard,...Full Text Available
Abs are central to malaria immunity, which is only acquired after years of exposure to Plasmodium falciparum (Pf). Despite the enormous worldwide burden of malaria,...Full Text Available
BackgroundFew studies have yet addressed the effects of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) in house dust on human nasal mucosa.ObjectivesWe investigated...Full Text Available
Sixteen patients with advanced cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) with or without lymph node involvement, but without evidence of extranodal manifestations, were treated with a combination of total skin electron beam therapy (TSEB) and total nodal irradiation (TNI). Fourteen (87%) patients achieved a complete response (CR) lasting from 1 to 84+ months (median, 8+ months) from the completion of treatment. The best results occurred in 6 patients with pretumorous intracutaneous CTCL (Stages IB and IIA) where the CR has lasted in all patients from 8 to 84+ months (median about 27+ months). Radiotherapy was well tolerated with the major toxicity being bone marrow suppression. The authors conclude that combined TSEB and TNI is a relatively safe and effective treatment for patients with CTCL prior to the development of lymph node involvement. Long-term follow-up is needed to assess the curative potential of this treatment.
The class of Spirochetes comprises a wide array of clinically important pathogens, including Treponema pallidum causing syphilis as well as Borrelia burgdorferi, the agent of Lyme disease (LD). Diseases caused by spirochetes are characterized by specific sequelae of host reactions, and also by characteristic antibody response patterns. Over the last decades, research on the interaction of spirochetes with the hosts immune system had a strong emphasis on outer membrane lipoproteins. In fact, these structures have been convincingly shown to activate immune cells via CD14 and Toll-like receptor (TLR)-2, and recent data also indicate an interaction with lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-binding protein (LBP). In particular, the interaction of B. burgdorferi with TLR-2 could not only be demonstrated in ...
Type I interferon is important in anti-viral responses and in coordinating the innate immuneresponse. Here we explore the use of interferon-β to adjuvant the response to a rabies virus...Full Text Available
Background: Recent studies have developed a murine model of IgE-mediated food allergy based on oral coadministration of antigen and cholera toxin (CT) to establish a maximal response for studying immunopathogenic mechanisms and immunotherapeutic strategies. However, for studying subtle immunomodulating factors or factors effective during response initiation, this maximal response-based model is less suitable due to a lack of sensitivity. Therefore, in attempts to identify essential parameters to fine-tune the immuneresponse towards a submaximal level, potentially more sensitive, we were interested in characterizing the individual effects of the parameters in the CT-based model: CT dose, antigen type and dose, and number of immunizations. Methods: BALB/c mice were orally sensitized weekly for 3 or 7 weeks with graded doses of CT and various food antigens ...
The ability of Yersinia pestis to forestall the mammalian innate immuneresponse is a fundamental aspect of plague pathogenesis. In this study, we examined the effect of Ail, a 17-kDa outer membrane protein that protects Y. pestis against complement-mediated lysis, on bubonic plague pathogenesis in mice and rats. The Y. pestis ail mutant was attenuated for virulence in both rodent models. The attenuation was greater in rats than in mice, which correlates with the ability of normal rat serum, but not mouse serum, to kill ail-negative Y. pestis in vitro. Intradermal infection with the ail mutant resulted in an atypical, subacute form of bubonic plague associated with extensive recruitment of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN or neutrophils) to the site of infection in the draining lymph node and the formation of large purulent abscesses that contained the bacteria. Systemic spread and mortality were greatly attenuated, however, and a productive ...
Data from 52 litters farrowed in two seasons of a cross-fostering experiment were analyzed to estimate variances and covariances for additive direct and maternal genetic effects on immuneresponse to pseudorabies virus and B. bronchiseptica vaccine. Twenty purebred boars and 44 sows of the Duroc, Landrace and Yorkshire breeds were used. Immuneresponse was measured after vaccine challenge. A modified-live pseudorabies (PR) vaccine was administered to piglets at 28 d of age; response was measured by log2 serum neutralization titers at 56 d. An inactivated B. bronchiseptica bacterin was administered at 28, 42 and 112 d. Antibody levels were measured relative to positive and negative controls at 28, 56 and 119 d by using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results from this study for heritability were .18 +/- .09 for PR titer and .15 +/- .07 and .52 +/- .15 for 56- and 119-d ...
The issue of the duration of immunity, particularly for the modified live viral components of veterinary vaccines, has been a significant part of the recent vaccination debate. One manufacturer has increased the recommended booster interval for these components to 3 years give name and another now states `up to 4 years' immunity.There remain many unanswered questions regarding this duration of immunity (DOI). Studies suitable for data sheet claims are time consuming and costly and can only be performed in laboratory dogs under tightly controlled conditions. Evidence from rabies serology testing in the UK shows that the response of individual animals to routine vaccination is highly variable. Much of the published field evidence on the persistence of antibody titres originates from North Am...
Resistance and tolerance are two types of host defense mechanisms that increase fitness in response to fungi. Several genetic polymorphisms in pattern recognition receptors, most remarkably Toll-like receptors (TLRs), have been described to influence resistance and tolerance to aspergillosis in distinct clinical settings. TLRs on dendritic cells pivotally contribute in determining the balance between immunopathology and protective immunity to the fungus. Epithelial cells also contribute to this balance via selected TLRs converging on indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase (IDO). Studies in experimental hematopoietic transplantation confirmed the dichotomy of pathways leading to resistance and tolerance to the fungus providing new insights on the relative contribution of the hematopoietic/nonhematopoi...
The greater amberjack, Seriola dumerilii (Risso 1810) is a semi-pelagic fish and a worldwide species; it is considered a promising candidate for the diversification of Mediterranean aquaculture. In this paper an experimental injection with Listonella (Vibrio) anguillarum was performed to study the immuneresponse of S. dumerilii. Antibody titres to L. anguillarum O1 were determined with indirect-ELISA at different times over a period of 42 days. Results showed that the antibody levels against L. anguillarum were significantly higher in the challenged fish compared to the control. They started developing since the 5th day reaching the highest peak on day 20 after injection, indicating a fast response of the immune system. The observed antibody titre was very high versus L. anguillarum if co...
A 33-year-old male of proven fertility suffered six attacks of malaria while resident in an African country. For this he received anti-malarial drugs. Semen analysis performed after the fourth attack, and repeated during the following 2 years after his return to Israel, revealed severe oligozoospermia, necrozoospermia and occasionally even azoospermia. Immunological examination of the patient revealed an inverse ratio of T-cell subsets and mast cell degranulation in response to palludrin. Twenty-five months after the last attack of malaria a significant improvement was found in semen quality and there was an increase in the ratio of T-helper to T-suppressor cytotoxic cells. These observations indicate that although malaria and its treatment may affect spermatogenesis, recovery may be expected eventually. PMID:3500921
There is very little known about the long-term evolution of the MHC and MHC-like molecules. This is because both the theory (the evolutionary questions and models) and the practice (the animals systems, functional assays and reagents to identify and characterize these molecules) have been difficult to develop. There is no molecular evidence yet to decide whether vertebrate immune systems (and particularly the MHC molecules) are evolutionarily related to invertebrate allorecognition systems, and the functional evidence can be interpreted either way. Even among the vertebrates, there is great heterogeneity in the quality and quantity of the immuneresponse. The functional evidence for T-lymphocyte function in jawless and cartilagenous fish is poor, while the bony fish seem to have many characteristics of a mammalian immune system. The organization and sequence of fish Ig genes also indicate that important ...
Assessment of the immune system's capability to respond to antigens with the generation of specific antibodies, whilst under the influence of a test article, is required in toxicity tests according to the European guideline for repeated dose toxicity testing of medicinal products. The purpose of this study in rats was to validate methodology for the determination of Keyhole Limpet Haemocyanin (KLH)-specific antibodies under the influence of an immunologically active compound. The immunosuppressant FK506, commercially available as Prograf, was administered orally (gavage) to five rats per sex per group at dosages of 0.5mg/kg per day or 3mg/kg per day, for a period of 4 weeks. On days 14 and 22, KLH was administered subcutaneously, with an adjuvant (AluGel), to the two treated groups and a control (i.e. without FK506 treatment) approximately 1h following administration of FK506. Terminal investigations included haematology parameters, titration of KLH-specific ...
European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax L.) is a marine species of great economic importance, particularly in Mediterranean aquaculture. However, numerous pathogenic viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites affect the species, causing various infectious diseases and thereby leading to the most heavy losses in aquaculture production of sea bass. In this respect, knowledge on molecular and genetic mechanisms of resistance to pathogens and specific features of immuneresponse against various infectious agents should greatly benefit the development of effective vaccines and proper vaccination strategies in marker-assisted selection of fish resistant to a range of infections. To date, genetic knowledge on sea bass immune regulatory genes responsible for resistance to pathogens is relatively poor ...
Pneumonia caused by Mannheimia haemolytica is an important disease of domestic sheep (DS, Ovis aries) and cattle (BO). M. haemolytica is a normal commensal of the upper respiratory tract in ruminants, but during stress and viral infection it breaches the host innate mucosal defense and descents into lungs causing fibrinous pleuropneumonia. Leukotoxin (Lkt) produced by M. haemolytica is cytolytic to all subsets of ruminant leukocytes. Earlier, we and others have shown that DS and BO LFA-1 (CD11a/CD18) and Mac-1 (CD11b/CD18) can mediate Lkt-induced cytolysis. It is not clear whether CR4 (CD11c/CD18), which is involved in chemotaxis, phagocytosis and regulates host immuneresponse can also mediate Lkt-induced cytolysis in ruminants. The host innate immuneresponse to M. haemolytica is poorly ...
AbstractBackground: The dinitrofluorobenzene/dinitrosulfonic acid (DNFB/DNS) model was originally described as an experimental model of intestinal inflammation resembling human ulcerative colitis (UC). Due to the absence of acceptable UC experimental models for pharmacological preclinical assays, here we examine the immuneresponse induced in this model. Methods: Balb/c mice were sensitized by skin application of DNFB on day 1, followed by an intrarectal challenge with DNS on day 5. We further expanded this model by administering a second DNS challenge on day 15. The features of colonic inflammation and immuneresponse were evaluated. Results: The changes observed in colonic tissue corresponded, in comparison to the trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) colitis model, to a mild mucosal effe...
DNA from the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 17 different individuals infected with human T-cell lymphoma/leukemia virus type II (HTLV-II) was successfully amplified by the polymerase chain reaction...Full Text Available
The immunogenicity of allogeneic cultured human epidermal keratinocytes (cHEKs) has been studied in several models with contradictory results. We studied human T-cell activation in an in vitro...Full Text Available
The presence of a high number of activated T cells in the bloodstream and spontaneous proliferation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in vitro are striking characteristics of human T-cell leukemia...Full Text Available
Although human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) is the etiologic agent of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL), the role of viral gene expression in the progression to and maintenance of the...Full Text Available
Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is the etiologic agent of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL), HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP), and other diseases....Full Text Available
Selected sera from cattle naturally infected with Brucella abortus precipitate water soluble antigens extracted by sonication from B. abortus. One of these antigens resembles antigen E (Baughn and Freeman)...Full Text Available
Protective immunity against infection with Bacillus anthracis is almost entirely based on a response to the protective antigen (PA), the binding moiety for the two other toxin components....Full Text Available
Regulatory T (T reg) cells exert powerful down-modulatory effects on immuneresponses, but it is not known how they act in vivo. Using intravital two-photon laser scanning microscopy we determined that,...Full Text Available
This book contains 49 chapters. Some of the titles are: Molecular, Genetic, and Clinical Aspects of the HLA System; The Normal ImmuneResponse; Significance of the ABO Antigen System; The Role of Dialysis in the Management of End-Stage Renal Disease; Access for Dialysis; Patient Selection for Renal Transplantation; The Living Donor in Kidney Transplantation; and Kidney Preservation by Cold Storage.
The ζ chain-associated 70-kDa protein (ZAP-70) of tyrosine kinase plays a critical role in T cell receptor-mediated signal transduction and the immuneresponse. A high level of ZAP-70 expression...Full Text Available
Abstract. The potential effects of synthetic unmethylated oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN) containing CpG motifs, mimicking bacterial DNA, has never been evaluated on the immuneresponse in the teleost fish gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata), the most important fish species in Mediterranean aquaculture. First, binding and competition studies have demonstrated that binding is saturated and promiscuous, suggesting the participation of several receptors. Moreover, leucocyte cytotoxic (NCC) activity, production of ROIs (reactive oxygen intermediates), and expression of immune-relevant genes was greatly primed by ODNs. Focusing on the mechanism, the TLR9 gene is widely distributed in seabream tissues and differently regulated in vitro by several stimuli. Moreover, and for the first time in fish, TLR9...
Viral infections are still common causes of morbidity and mortality in immunosuppressed patients after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Infections caused by virus such as cytomegalovirus, adenovirus and Epstein-Barr virus are well-known. In addition, several other viruses such as polyomavirus and human herpesvirus 6 have been recently reported to be causes of significant complications. As the delay in recovery of virus-specific cellular immuneresponse after transplant is associated with viral reactivation and viral disease, adoptive immunotherapy to restore virus-specific cellular immunity is an attractive option. Recent clinical trials showed the safety and effectiveness of adoptive immunotherapy against viral diseases. In this review, we summarize the current status o...
A fundamental Doppler-like but asymmetric wave effect that shifts received signals in frequency in proportion to their respective source distances, was recently described as means for a whole new generation of communication technology using angle and distance, potentially replacing TDM, FDM or CDMA, for multiplexing. It is equivalent to wave packet compression by scaling of time at the receiver, converting path-dependent phase into distance-dependent shifts, and can multiply the capacity of physical channels. The effect was hitherto unsuspected in physics, appears to be responsible for both the cosmological acceleration and the Pioneer 10/11 anomaly, and is exhibited in audio data. This paper discusses how it may be exploited for instant, passive ranging of signal sources, for verification, rescue and navigation; incoherent aperture synthesis for smaller, yet more accurate radars; universal immunity to jamming or interference; and precision ...
Insect host/parasitoid interactions are co-evolved systems in which host defenses are balanced by parasitoid mechanisms to disable or hide from host immune effectors. Although there is a rich literature on these systems, parasitoid immune-disabling mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. Here we report on a newly discovered immune-disabling mechanism in the Pieris rapae/Pteromalus puparum host/parasitoid system. Because venom injections and parasitization suppresses host phagocytosis, we turned attention to the P. rapae scavenger receptor (Pr-SR), posing the hypothesis that P. puparum venom suppresses expression of the host Pr-SR gene. To test our hypothesis, we cloned a full-length cDNA of the Pr-SR. Multiple sequences alignment showed the deduced amino acid sequence of Pr-SR is similar to scavenger receptors of other lepidopterans. Bacterial and bead injections induced Pr-SR mRNA and protein expression, which peaked at ...
Abstract in english The tegument surface of the adult schistosome, bounded by a normal plasma membrane overlain by a secreted membranocalyx, holds the key to understanding how schistosomes evade host immuneresponses. Recent advances in mass spectrometry (MS), and the sequencing of the Schistosoma mansoni transcriptome/genome, have facilitated schistosome proteomics. We detached the tegument from the worm body and enriched its surface membranes by differential extraction, before subjecting t (more) he preparation to liquid chromatography-based proteomics to identify its constituents. The most exposed proteins on live worms were labelled with impearmeant biotinylation reagents, and we also developed methods to isolate the membranocalyx for analysis. We identified transporters for sugars, amino acids, inorganic ions and water, which confirm the importance of the tegument plasma membrane in nutrient acquisition and solute balance. Enzymes, ...
In the early 1970s a spate of papers by research groups around the world provided evidence for a negative regulatory role of thymus-derived lymphocytes (Tcells). In 1971, Gershon and Kondo published...Full Text Available
We have previously described an allelic polymorphism in the V beta 6.1 T-cell receptor gene. The V beta 6.1B allele is associated with disease in a subgroup of patients with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis....Full Text Available
Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma is typically a clonal neoplasm of epidermotropic CD4+ T-lymphocytes that includes the entity mycosis fungoides (MF). After identification of patients with recurrent MF treated...Full Text Available
The most common cutaneous T-cell lymphomas (CTCLs) – mycosis fungoides (MF) and Sézary Syndrome – are characterised by the presence of clonally expanded, skin-homing helper-memory...Full Text Available
T-cell activation requires the influx of extracellular calcium, although mechanistic details regarding such activation are not fully defined. Here, we show that P2X7 receptors play a key...Full Text Available
Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae is associated with chronic non-progressive pneumonia of sheep and goats. As with many other mycoplasmas involved in animal diseases, protective immuneresponses have not been achieved with vaccines, even though antibody responses can be obtained. This study focuses on characterizing the interaction of M. ovipneumoniae with ovine PBMC using carboxy-fluorescein-succinimidyl-ester (CFSE) loading and flow cytometry to measure lymphoid cell division. M. ovipneumoniae induced a strong in vitro polyclonal suppression of CD4^+, CD8^+, and B blood lymphocyte subsets. The suppressive activity could be destroyed by heating to 60^oC, and partially impaired by formalin and binary ethyleneimine treatment that abolished its viability. The activity resided on the surface-exposed m...
The spike (S) protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) has two major functions: interacting with the receptor to mediate virus entry and inducing protective immunity. Coincidently, the receptor-binding domain (RBD, residues 318-510) of SAR-CoV S protein is a major antigenic site to induce neutralizing antibodies. Here, we used RBD-Fc, a fusion protein containing the RBD and human IgG1 Fc, as a model in the studies and found that a single amino acid substitution in the RBD (R441A) could abolish the immunogenicity of RBD to induce neutralizing antibodies in immunized mice and rabbits. With a panel of anti-RBD mAbs as probes, we observed that R441A substitution was able to disrupt the majority of neutralizing epitopes in the RBD, suggesting that this residue is critical for the antigenic structure responsible for inducing protective immuneresponses. We also ...
Abstract in english Cytokines are molecules that were initially discovered in the immune system as mediators of communication between various types of immune cells. However, it soon became evident that cytokines exert profound effects on key functions of the central nervous system, such as food intake, fever, neuroendocrine regulation, long-term potentiation, and behavior. In the 80's and 90's our group and others discovered that the genes encoding various cytokines and their receptors are e (more) xpressed in vascular, glial, and neuronal structures of the adult brain. Most cytokines act through cell surface receptors that have one transmembrane domain and which transduce a signal through the JAK/STAT pathway. Of particular physiological and pathophysiological relevance is the fact that cytokines are potent regulators of hypothalamic neuropeptidergic systems that maintain neuroendocrine homeostasis and which regulate the body's ...
Emerging evidence suggests that E3 ligases play critical roles in diverse biological processes, including innate immuneresponses in plants. However, the mechanism of the E3 ligase involvement in plant innate immunity is unclear. We report that a rice gene, OsBBI1, encoding a RING finger protein with E3 ligase activity, mediates broad-spectrum disease resistance. The expression of OsBBI1 was induced by rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae, as well as chemical inducers, benzothiadiazole and salicylic acid. Biochemical analysis revealed that OsBBI1 protein possesses E3 ubiquitin ligase activity in vitro. Genetic analysis revealed that the loss of OsBBI1 function in a Tos17-insertion line increased susceptibility, while the overexpression of OsBBI1 in transgenic plants conferred enhanced resi...
We evaluated the use of a novel gene porter (Den123-a nontoxic self-assembled dendritic spheroidal nanoparticle made of biodegradable monomers), aiming to enhance and improve the desired immuneresponse in protection from allergy. Footpad DNA immunization in Balb/c mice was done three times using the Bet v 1a gene with or without Den123 with 2-week intervals followed by sensitization with rBetv1 (5mg) in alum twice in a weekly interval. Different doses of pCMV-Betv1 were used (10mg and 100mg). The protective role of different formulations was evaluated by measuring the IgG1, IgG2a and IgE antibody production, cytokine release of isolated splenocytes and b-hexosaminidase release from the RBL cells. Higher and increasing ratios of IgG2a/IgG1 were seen in mice which received plasmids in combi...
Much progress has been made in the clinical, biological and technical aspects of the T-cell-depleted haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Our experience demonstrates that infusing a megadose of extensively T-cell-depleted hematopoietic peripheral blood stem cells after an immuno-myeloablative conditioning regimen in acute leukemia patients ensures sustained engraftment with minimal GvHD without the need of any post-transplant immunosuppressive treatment. Since our first successful pilot study, our efforts have concentrated on developing new conditioning regimens, optimizing the graft processing and improving the post-transplant immunological recovery. The results we have so far achieved in high risk acute leukemia patients show that haploidentical transplantation ...
Abstract In this brief report, we have described the fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of a hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma (HSTCL) in a 60-year-old female patient. The patient complained of fever and heaviness of left upper abdomen. Ultrasound-guided FNAC of the spleen showed immature lymphoid cells, and a diagnosis of primary non-Hodgkin lymphoma of spleen was offered. Subsequently, the patient underwent splenectomy and wedge biopsy of liver that confirmed the cytological diagnosis. The lymphoma cells were positive for CD3 immunostain. Primary hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma is a rare entity and may often pose diagnostic problems on FNAC. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2010. 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Immunotoxicity encompasses both reduced and heightened immune function. Diverse chemicals can impair functioning of the immune system. Both monographs and books have been devoted to detailed descriptions...Full Text Available
1. Gamma globulin metabolism and distribution were studied employing rabbit gamma globulin (RGG)I(131) 24 times in 13 control rabbits. Similar studies were performed before and during the ananmestic response in 4 rabbits previously sensitized with a polyvalent pneumococcal vaccine. 2. During the ananmestic response, gamma-globulin levels increased from 1.0 to 6.0 gm/100 ml, and the gamma-globulin pool increased from 0.7 to 4.7 gm/kg. There was no change in the intravascular-extravascular partition of gamma globulin. 3. Gamma globulin degradation increased from 0.06 to 0.33 gm/kg/day during the 28 days of the immunization period while gamma globulin synthesis increased even further to average 0.47 gm/kg/day. Following the attainment of elevated gamma globulin levels the fractional rate of RGG-I(131) turnover increased from 8.0 to 12.5 per cent/day. 4. No differences were noted in the metabolism of homologous or autologous ...
In May 1990 a group of scientists representing several federal agencies, the International Society of Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, the private sector, and academia met to develop a strategy to encourage the study of the biological effects of low level exposures (BELLE) to chemical agents and radioactivity. A workshop was held in 1991 with seven invited speakers focusing on the toxicological implications of biological adaptations. The selection of topics and speakers was designed to consider critically the concept of hormesis, not only in a broad, conceptual manner, but also at the molecular and biochemical levels. These presentations offered a complementary perspective on the diverse range of molecular mechanisms that can become activated at low levels of toxicant exposure. In addition to chemical toxicology research, an overview of current research on 'Effects of low-dose radiation on the immuneresponse' was presented as well as ...
Introduction The progressive growth of malignancies is accompanied by a decline in the immuneresponse through mechanisms which are poorly understood. Apoptosis and induction of inflammation by tumor released cytokines as tumor escape mechanisms have been proposed to play an important role in colorectal carcinogenesis. Methods Expression of Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-?) was analyzed in colorectal cancer specimen and the cancer cell line HT-29 by immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR. TNF-? expression on protein and mRNA level were correlated with clinical characteristics and impact on survival. TNFR-1 was co-labelled with TNF-? and CD8+ cytotoxic T cells in immunofluorescence double staining experiments. Results: 94% (n?=?98/104) of the patients with CRC expressed TNF-?. High TNF-? express...
The T cell receptor is a fundamental mediator of the adaptive immuneresponses, since TR ab on T cells recognize foreign structures (peptides derived from processed antigens) bound to the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) on APC cells. In the present study, we report the cloning of six TRB chains cDNA sequences from gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata), a fish of high economical impact in South Mediterranean aquaculture. The V-BETA domains have the canonical features of known teleost and mammalian TR V-BETA domains and have been divided in four different subgroups. A multiple alignment of the six sea bream TRB chains with other known TRB sequences was assembled and showed the conservation of the four cysteine residues involved in disulphide bonds and of some amino acids with an importan...
AbstractBackground: A defective innate immuneresponse may contribute to the pathogenesis of Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Employing a global gene expression analysis, this study was aimed at identifying specifically regulated genes within the epithelial compartment in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Methods: The epithelial fraction of human ileal mucosa samples from surgical specimens was obtained by laser microdissection. Gene expression was examined by global expression profiling (n = 18, Affymetrix), quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) (n = 35), immunoblot analysis (n = 9), and immunohistochemistry (n = 25). Results: Global expression profiling revealed a pronounced downregulation of the retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I) with...
The growth response, total hemocyte count (THC), respiratory burst (release of superoxide anion), phenoloxidase (PO) activity, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity as well as resistance to the pathogen Vibrio alginolyticus were measured in Litopenaeus vannamei, which had been fed diets supplemented with glycyrrhizin (the aqueous extract of licorice, Glycyrrhiza glabra, roots) at 0, 50, 100, 150, and 200 mg/kg of feed for 8 wk. In the feeding trial, there was no significant difference in survival rate (P > 0.05). Significant higher specific growth rate was observed in treatments with dietary glycyrrhizin than that in the control group (P < 0.05). Shrimp fed a diet with 200 mg/kg of glycyrrhizin had significant higher THC, PO activity, respiratory burst a...
Several challenges currently exist for rational design of functional tissue engineering constructs within the host, which include appropriate cellular integration, avoidance of bacterial infections, and low inflammatory stimulation. This work describes a novel class of biodegradable, amphiphilic polyanhydrides with many desirable protein-material and cell-material attributes capable of confronting these challenges. The biocompatible amphiphilic polymer films were shown to release laminin in a stable and controlled manner, promote neural cell adhesion and differentiation, and evade inflammatory responses of the immune system. Using high-throughput approaches, it was shown that polymer chemistry plays an integral role in controlling cell?film interactions, which suggests that these polyanhyd...
BackgroundCharacterization of the innate immune repertoire of extant cnidarians is of both fundamental and applied interest - it not only provides insights into the basic immunological...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe thymus plays a critical role in the development and maturation of T-cells. Humans have a single thoracic thymus and presence of a second thymus is considered an anomaly....Full Text Available
There is a quest for the development of a new generation of vaccines consisting of well-defined subunit antigens. For a number of practical reasons it is attractive to develop vaccines on the basis...Full Text Available
Synthetic polypeptide antigens of L amino acids, although bearing repeating sequences, are thymus-dependent (L-TD), whereas the same polymers composed of D amino acids are thymus-independent (D-TI),...Full Text Available
Evaluation of the protective efficacy of recombinant T-cell-reactive proteins of Coccidioides posadasii in a murine model of coccidioidomycosis has led to the discovery of potential...Full Text Available
BackgroundAllergic Contact Dermatitis (ACD) is regarded as a T-cell-mediated delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction. We studied the kinetics of the expression of CS-1 fibronectin,...Full Text Available
Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus causes severe encephalitis with serious sequelae in humans. The disease is characterized by fever and debilitating encephalitis that can progress to chronic illness...Full Text Available
... The effectiveness of immune suppression with both 6-mercaptopurine and methotrexate was insufficient to permit induction of a clinically useful ...
Selenium (Se), zinc (Zn), magnesium (Mg), molybdenum (Mo) and vanadium (V) in 28 types of Egyptian common foodstuffs as well as drinking and irrigation water samples were determined using neutron activation analysis (NAA) and atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). The samples were collected from 74 sites over 13 governorates as well as the Nile river, wells and tap water in the regions of the Nile Delta, Sinai, the east and west desert, and north and south Egypt. These trace elements were chosen according to international references, which show the close relationship of their deficiencies to immunity-related diseases. Calculation values of daily uptake per capita were made with the results of analysis. The results, as calculated per 100 g dry weight, showed that some Egyptian foods are rich in Se including such fish (0.94 #mu#g), sesame (0.88 #mu#g), beef meat (0.48 #mu#g), instant tea (0.42 #mu#g), mushroom (0.34 #mu#g) and eggs (0.3 #mu#g), whereas the vegetables ...
We examine the computational complexity of context-free languages, mainly concentrating on two well-known structural properties--immunity and pseudorandomness. An infinite language is REG-immune (resp., CFL-immune) if it contains no infinite subset that is a regular (resp., context-free) language. We prove that (i) there is a context-free REG-immune language outside REG/$n$ and (ii) there is a REG-bi-immune language that can be computed deterministically using logarithmic space. We also show that (iii) there is a CFL-simple set, where a CFL-simple language is an infinite context-free language whose complement is CFL-immune. Similar to the REG-immunity, a REG-primeimmune language has no polynomially dense subsets that are also regular. We further prove that (iv) there is a context-free language that is REG/n-bi-primeimmune but not even ...
Two plasmids which express either nearly intact or truncated filamentous hemagglutinin (FHA) from Bordetella pertussis and which are marked with a tetracycline resistance (Tcr) gene were transformed into Salmonella dublin SL1438, an aroA deletion mutant intended for use as an attenuated oral vaccine against salmonellosis. These S. dublin recombinants, when fed to mice, induced serum immunoglobulin, immunoglobulin M (IgM), and sometimes IgA antibody responses to FHA and S. dublin. In addition, IgA antibodies against FHA were found in gut wash fluids. S. dublin carrying pDB2300, a multicopy plasmid encoding truncated FHA protein, induced a better antibody response than did S. dublin carrying pDB2000, a low-copy-number plasmid encoding full-sized FHA. Administration of tetracycline to mice enhanced the stability of recombinant plasmids, and tetracycline-treated mice developed higher anti-FHA titers. Although neither strain examined is suitable for ...
The disruption of primary innate immune function of the epidermal layer of the skin accounts for the susceptibility of individuals using bleaching agents to localized or systemic infections. This subverted innate immunity in these people may lead to other pathological conditions. The resultant effects of skin bleaching and phagocytes activation in response to infections have not been studied in Nigerians using bleaching agents. The present study therefore assessed the levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), albumin, total antioxidant potential (TAP), total plasma peroxides (TPP), oxidative stress index (OSI) and malonaldehyde (MDA) in the users bleaching agents. Thirty (30) people who had used bleaching agents for average of 4.9 + 1.2 years participated in this study. They were recruited from various schools and markets within the city of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Thirty apparently healthy staffs of University College ...
The most advanced frontier of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is represented by the use of an HLA-partially matched relative as donor. In this type of transplantation, donor-derived natural killer (NK) cells, which are alloreactive towardtoward recipient cells, significantly contribute to the eradication of leukemia blasts. Alloreactive NK cells may also kill host dendritic cells and T lymphocytes, thus preventing graft-versus-host disease and graft rejection, respectively. Sophisticated strategies of adoptive infusion of T-cell lines/clones specific for the most life-threatening pathogens (namely cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, Aspergillus and Adenovirus) have been envisaged, and successfully tested in a few pilot trials, to protect the recipient in the...
The green fluorescent protein (GFP) asFP499 from Anemonia sulcata is a distant homologue of the GFP from Aequorea victoria. We cloned the asFP499 gene into a mammalian expression vector and showed that this protein was expressed in the human lymphoblast cell line Ramos RA1 and in the embryonic kidney 293Tcell line (HEK 293T). In HEK 293Tcells, asFP499 was localized mainly in the cytoplasm, suggesting that the protein was excluded from the nucleus. We identified _1_9_4LRMEKLNI_2_0_1 as a candidate nuclear export signal in asFP499 and mutated the isoleucine at position 201 to an alanine. Unlike the wildtype form, the mutant protein was distributed throughout the cytoplasm and nucleus. This is First report of a GFP that contains a functional NES.
Abstract Herpesvirus saimiri (HVS) causes acute lymphoma and leukemia upon experimental infection of various monkey species. HVS strain C488 is also capable of transforming human T-lymphocytes to stable growth in culture. The most susceptible species for oncogenesis are New World primates, in particular the cottontop tamarin (Saguinus oedipus). However, Old World monkeys such as macaques are the most used animal model for the close-to-human situation. The limited data on HVS infection in Old World monkeys prompted us to investigate susceptibility to infection and disease induction by HVS in macaques. After having established that rhesus macaques can be infected productively, and that rhesus T-cells can be transformed in vivo by HVS, we observed induction of lymphoma in all inoculated anima...
Lectin is a generic name of sugar binding protein in living organisms. With an objective to clarify physiological functions of lectin in marine invertebrates and utilize it as a useful material in the bio-chemical industry, studies were carried out on the chemical structure, distribution in living organisms and structural changes of lectin. Lectin is involved with such physiological actions as immunity reactions, generation and differentiation, Ca fixation and symbiosis. Lectin is one of the main components of lymph fluid in shellfish and crustacean, and is a multi-functional polymer that is related with foreign substance recognition, Ca transport, and shell formation. Lectin of a certain kind shows strong actions to accelerate cell division. Organs and cells were cultivated for lectin producing organs and lectin producing cells to verify the production thereof. Elucidation was attempted in a molecular level on such physiological functions as foreign substance ...
Current bioartificial extra-corporeal systems are bioreactors where cells are separated from the surrounding media by porous polymeric membranes. The present work focuses on the design of membranes that allow the differential diffusion of plasma metabolites and proteins such as immunoglobulin (IgG). This design will improve catabolites removal and reduce possible immuneresponse and virus infection. We demonstrate the feasibility to synthesize the hydrogels confined to the macroporous structure of membranes by radiation-induced in situ polymerization. The hollow-fiber membranes were soaked in aqueous monomeric solution, rinsed and irradiated while submerged in oil. This procedure confined the hydrogel to the void internal volume of the pores of the membrane. Hydrogels of polyacrylamide and polyHEMA were synthesized this way by irradiation at 10 kGy. Hydraulic permeability and diffusion of glucose, albumin and IgG were measured in these ...
Cholera vaccine candidate Peru-15 was derived from a Vibrio cholerae O1 El Tor Inaba strain by deleting the cholera toxin genetic element, introducing the gene encoding cholera toxin B subunit into recA, and screening for nonmotility. In a controlled study, Peru-15 (2 x 10(8) cfu) was administered to 11 volunteers. No vaccinee developed diarrhea, and 10 of 11 had > 4-fold rises in vibriocidal antibody titers. One month later, 5 vaccinees and 5 control volunteers were challenged with wild type V. cholerae O1. Four of 5 controls developed diarrhea (mean, 1.9 L). Two Peru-15 vaccinees developed diarrhea, 1 with < 0.3 L and 1 with approximately 1.0 L; this latter volunteer had not developed a significant vibriocidal immuneresponse to vaccination. Peru-15 shows promise as a single-dose, oral cholera vaccine that is safe, immunogenic, and protective. PMID:7561195
Elevated nuclear factor kappa B (NF-@kB) activity and interleukin-6 (IL-6) secretion participates in the pathology of several age and inflammatory-related diseases, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD), in which retinal pigment epithelial cells are the key target. Recent findings reveal that heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) may affect regulation of NF-@kB. In the current study, effects of Hsp70 expression on NF-@kB RelA/p65 activity were evaluated in human retinal pigment epithelial cells (ARPE-19) by using celastrol, a novel anti-inflammatory compound. Anti-inflammatory properties of celastrol were determined by measuring expression levels of IL-6 and endogenous NF-@kB levels during lipopolysaccharide (LPS) exposure by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Cell viabil...
Antibodies against feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and the feline oncornavirus-associated cell membrane antigen (FOCMA) were transferred from pregnant cats to their suckling kittens. All of these kittens...Full Text Available
Autoimmune cholangitis would be the appropriate name to define the immune-mediated bile duct injury following the breakdown of tolerance to mitochondrial proteins and the appearance of serum autoantibodies...Full Text Available
Suppressed IL-12 production and maladaptive immune activation, both of which are ameliorated by successful highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), are thought to play important roles in the immunopathogenesis...Full Text Available
ABSTRACTObjectivesTo test the feasibility of human immune globulin (IG, Gamimune N, 10%) as a new treatment for endophthalmitis, the ocular tolerance, distribution,...Full Text Available
The inflammatory and immune cell populations of the human lung parenchyma have not been characterized in detail. This report describes a novel and efficient procedure for their extraction. Histologically...Full Text Available
Chickens were bursectomized in ovo on days 18, 19 or 20 of incubation or within 6 h of hatch and immunized at day 28 after hatch by an intravenous injection of sheep red blood cells (SRBC). The immune...Full Text Available
BackgroundSupplementation of nutritional deficiencies helps to improve immune function and resistance to infections in malnourished subjects. However, the suggested benefits of dietary...Full Text Available
In an attempt to establish if cross protection can be induced by different strains of Haemophilus parasuis, three groups of 12 gnotobiotic pigs were immunized each with an aluminum hydroxide adsorbed...Full Text Available
The collapse of major histocompatiblity complex (MHC) class-I-dependent immune privilege can lead to autoimmune disease or fetal rejection. Pragmatic and instructive models are needed to clarify the...Full Text Available
Macrophages are cells of the immune system that protect organisms against invading pathogens by fulfilling critical roles in innate and adaptive immunity and inflammation. They originate from circulating...Full Text Available
Endogenous immune complexes present in sera from 10 different patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in an active phase were allowed to bind to Raji cells; the ability of intact complement...Full Text Available
... Considering these observations, it is most likely that Brucela proteins involved in protective immunity will preferentially stimulate INF-g producing T ...
It has previously been shown that a recommender based on immune system idiotypic principles can out perform one based on correlation alone. This paper reports the results of work in progress, where we undertake some investigations into the nature of this beneficial effect. The initial findings are that the immune system recommender tends to produce different neighbourhoods, and that the superior performance of this recommender is due partly to the different neighbourhoods, and partly to the way that the idiotypic effect is used to weight each neighbours recommendations.
Correlates between immunological parameters and protection against Bacillus anthracis infection in animals vaccinated with protective antigen (PA)-based vaccines could provide surrogate markers to evaluate the putative protective efficiency of immunization in humans. In previous studies we demonstrated that neutralizing antibody levels serve as correlates for protection in guinea pigs (S. Reuveny et al., Infect. Immun. 69:2888-2893, 2001; H. Marcus et al., Infect. Immun. 72:3471-3477, 2004). In this study we evaluated similar correlates for protection by active and passive immunization of New Zealand White rabbits. Full immunization and partial immunization were achieved by single and multiple injections of standard and diluted doses of a PA-based vaccine. Passive immunization was carried out by injection of immune sera ...
The IRG protein Irgm3 preserves cell survival during coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) infection. However, the molecular mechanisms are not clear. Here, we examined the effect of Irgm3 expression on ER stress triggered by pharmacological agents or CVB3 infection. In Tet-On/Irgm3 HeLa cells, Irgm3 expression suppressed either chemical- or CVB3-induced upregulation of glucose-regulated protein78. Further, Irgm3 strongly inhibited the activation of both the PERK and ATF6 pathways of ER stress responses, which further led to the diminished phosphorylation of eIF2?, reduced cleavage/activation of transcription factor SREBP1 and attenuated induction of proapoptotic genes CHOP and GADD34. These data were further supported by experiments using Irgm3 knockout mouse embryonic fibroblasts, in which the ER stress induced by CVB3 was not relieved due to the lack of Irgm3 expression. In addition, the tunicamycin-triggered ER stress promoted the subsequent CVB3 infection. The effect of ...
Humoral immuneresponse to human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2/neu or ErbB-2) has been detected in sera of breast cancer patients and shown to be an appropriate prognostic marker (Taylor et al., 2007). However, since Trastuzumab (Herceptin) is a widely used monoclonal antibody as cancer therapy agent for tumors over-expressing HER-2, there is a need for an efficient way to detect host-generated antibodies against HER-2 without the confounding effect of Herceptin. Here we describe a screening method developed to decipher between host antibodies against HER-2 and that of Herceptin. By producing a series of truncation mutants within the epitope of Herceptin, we were able to inhibit this binding. We demonstrated also that by a three amino acid substitution (PPF?SSS) we were able to abrogate Herceptin binding while generating a highly conserved HER-2 extracellular domain (ECD). By producing a stable cell line that expresses this mutated ...
Medicinal plants play a major role in the life of Turkish people and of late medicinal plant usage has increased in many countries. Green plants in general contain mutagenic and carcinogenic substances, but there is little information about the biological activities of herbal medicine. In the present study, therefore, various Turkish medicinal herbs were investigated for their genotoxic potential in the Salmonella typhimurium microsomal activation assay and the alkaline single cell gel electrophoresis (COMET) assay. Extracts from these medicinal herbs and some fractions of these extracts were examined. The species investigated were Arctium minus, Ecballium elatterium, Momordica charantia, Plantago major, Urtica dioica, Viscum album, Salvia triloba, Euphorbia rigida, Stachys lavandulifolia, Acteoside, Abies nordmannia. They are used for various immune disorders and are applied either topically or taken orally as a herbal tea. Of the 19 samples of the extracts and ...
Among important candidates for babesial vaccines are apical complex proteins, including rhoptry-associated protein 1 (RAP-1) from Babesia bovis and B. bigemina, which...Full Text Available
Summary20 years ago, in 1987, Edelson and co-workers published their first report on the effectiveness of a new procedure, called extracorporeal photochemotherapy (ECP), in patients...Full Text Available
Bovine leukemia virus (BLV), a retrovirus related to human T-cell leukemia virus types 1 and 2, can induce persistent nonneoplastic expansion of the CD5+ B-cell population, termed...Full Text Available
Cytoreductive conditioning regimes designed to allow for successful allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) paradoxically are also detrimental to recovery of the immune system in general but lymphopoiesis in particular. Post-transplant immune depletion is particularly striking within the T cell compartment which is exquisitely sensitive to negative regulation, evidenced by the profound decline in thymic function with age. As a consequence, regeneration of the immune system remains a significant unmet clinical need. Over the past decade studies have revealed several promising therapeutic strategies to address ineffective lymphopoiesis and post-transplant immune deficiency. These include the use of cytokines such as IL-7, IL-12 and IL-15; growth factors and hormones li...
PPARgamma agonists have been proposed to exert more than metabolic benefits, particularly by anti-inflammatory mechanisms. We hypothesized that pioglitazone might modulate inflammatory and vascular responses to lipopolysaccharide (LPS). In a placebo-controlled parallel-group study in 18 healthy male subjects, the E. coli endotoxin model of inflammation (20 IU/kg i. v.) was employed to test the effect of 60 mg pioglitazone over nine days on inflammatory cytokines. Macrovascular function and microvascular blood flow were assessed by brachial artery ultrasound and retinal blood flow parameters, respectively. Pioglitazone increased brachial artery diameter by 5.6% but had no effect on other outcome parameters under resting conditions. LPS increased cytokine levels to peak concentrations of 91.3+/-22.5 ng/ml (IL-6), 261.4+/-60.0 ng/ml (TNFalpha), and 524.5+/-15.3 ng/ml (VCAM-1). The endotoxin caused microvascular vasodilation and increased retinal white blood cell flux, ...
OBJECTIVES: The authors examine the rationale and efficacy of pre-travel hepatitis B immunization strategies based on itinerary and presumed on-travel risk behaviour. METHODS: A large survey among 26,640 Danes survey provided data on journey lengths and destinations, immunization coverage, risk behaviour and knowledge. RESULTS: The estimated cumulative lifetime stay in endemic areas outside Europe is 4.3 months. The majority of risk situations are involuntary and unforeseeable. The majority of risk situations occur on short-term journeys. 5% nonimmune and 5% short-term travellers experienced at least one risk situation such as injections/operations/tattoos on their journey. The level of knowledge of hepatitis A and B is low. CONCLUSIONS: The rationale and efficacy of current immunization strategies are challenged. Based on the results presented here and the availability of vaccines with long-lasting coverage, the authors ...
The pathological effects of lead on the renal, nervous, reproductive, endocrine, and immune systems have been reviewed. Emphasis is placed on reported subclinical effects due to chronic, low-level lead...Full Text Available
Reports in humans and rodents indicate that immune development may be altered following perinatal exposure to immunotoxic compounds, including chemotherapeutics, corticosteroids, polycyclic hydrocarbons,...Full Text Available
The battery manufacturing industry has not been immune to the impact of new technologies. How one company is adapting production techniques to meet the demand for better products is discussed.
Vaccine-mediated prevention of primary HIV-1 infection at the heterosexual mucosal portal of entry may be facilitated by highly optimised formulations or drug delivery devices for intravaginal (i.vag) immunization. Previously we described hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC)-based rheologically structured gel vehicles (RSVs) for vaginal immunization of an HIV-1 vaccine candidate, a soluble recombinant trimeric HIV-1 clade-C envelope glycoprotein designated CN54gp140. Here we investigated the efficacy of lyophilized solid dosage formulations (LSDFs) for prolonging antigen stability and as i.vag delivery modalities. LSDFs were designed and developed that upon i.vag administration they would reconstitute with the imbibing of vaginal fluid to mucoadhesive, site-retentive semi-solids. Mice were immunize...
... objective of this research work were to 1 ... function of experimentally manipulated dogs to define ... Escherichia coli; Sepsis; Military medicine; Medical ...
The eye is an easily accessible, highly compartmentalised and immune-privileged organ that offers unique advantages as a gene therapy target. Significant advancements have been made in understanding...Full Text Available
Immunomodulation by environmental chemical contaminants and the role immune parameters play in toxicity and risk assessment studies is of increasing concern. Although considerable evidence has indicated...Full Text Available
Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder that leads to the development of a number of complications. The etiology of each diabetic complication is undoubtedly multifactorial. We will focus...Full Text Available
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) persists as a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease and is characterized by the production of autoantibodies and immune complexes that affects multiple organs....Full Text Available
Phosphorylation is one of the most frequent modifications in intracellular signaling and is implicated in many processes ranging from transcriptional control to signal transduction in innate immunity....Full Text Available
The immune system plays a crucial role in maintaining health; however, accumulating evidence indicates that this system can be the target for immunotoxic effects caused by a variety of chemicals including...Full Text Available
Background:Alopecia areata (AA) is an immune-mediated form of hair loss that occurs in all ethnic groups, ages, and both sexes. Helicobacter pylori has...Full Text Available
Patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) are subject to a spectrum of central nervous system (CNS) disorders. Recent evidence implicates the human T-cell lymphotropic virus type III (HTLV-III) in the pathogenesis of some of these illnesses, although the cells infected by the virus have yet to be identified. Using in situ hybridization, the authors examined brain tissue from two patients with AIDS encephalopathy for the presence of HTLV-III RNA. In both cases, viral RNA was detected and concentrated in, though not limited to, the white matter. The CNS cells most frequently infected included macrophages, pleomorphic microglia, and multinucleated giant cells. Less frequently, cells morphologically consistent with astrocytes, oligodendroglia, and rarely neurons were also infected. The findings strengthen the association of HTLV-III with the pathogenesis of AIDS encephalopathy. In situ hybridization can be applied to routinely prepared biopsy tissue in ...
Comparison of dosimetry measured in a noncylindrical Rando-Alderson phantom by two-field, four-field, and six-field total-skin electron-beam therapy (TSEBT) techniques with our dual-field rotational (DFR) technique reveals a superior dosimetry for the latter. Our technique of dual-field rotational DFR-TSEBT is described in detail, and its advantages and indications for the primary management of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) and Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) are discussed.
Expression of Bacterial luciferase enzyme (lux) in mammalian cells would be a powerful bioreporter protein system for in vivo imaging because eukaryotic luciferases need expensive substrates. However, only a few efforts have been made to express bacterial luciferase enzyme in mammalian cells. As the result of this, we attempted to construct bicistronic vector including two bacterial luciferase genes (LuxA and LuxB) for assessing the potential to be visualized in vitro or in vivo by optical imaging system after transfection to mammalian cells. We designed and synthesized luxA and luxB genes from Photorhabdus Luminescens. To co-express both luxA and luxB genes from a single promoter, we cloned as a bicistronic transcript fused with an internal ribosomal entry site (IRES). This bicistronic transcript was transfected by Superfect to HEK 293Tcell line. We also transfected lux A and lux B vector to HEK 293T ...
Streptococcus pneumoniae colonizes the mucosal surface of the human upper respiratory tract. A colonization event is gradually cleared through phagocytosis by monocytes/macrophages that are recruited to the airway lumen. Here, we sought to define the bacterial and host factors that promote monocyte/macrophage influx and S. pneumoniae clearance using intranasal bacterial challenge in mice. We found that the recruitment of monocytes/macrophages required their expression of the chemokine receptor CCR2 and correlated with expression of the CCR2 ligand CCL2. Production of CCL2 and monocyte/macrophage recruitment were deficient in mice lacking digestion of peptidoglycan by lysozyme (LysM) and cytosolic sensing of the products of digestion by Nod2. Ex vivo macrophages produced CCL2 following bacterial uptake, digestion by LysM, and sensing of peptidoglycan by Nod2. Sensing of digested peptidoglycan by Nod2 also required the pore-forming toxin pneumolysin. The generation of an adaptive ...
Glioblastoma multiforme is the most aggressive form of human brain tumor, which has no effective cure. Previously, we have demonstrated that overexpression of the C-terminal fragment of the human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERTC27) inhibits the growth and tumorigenicity of human cervical cancer HeLa cells. In this study, the therapeutic effect and molecular mechanisms of hTERTC27-mediated cancer gene therapy were further explored in vivo in established human glioblastoma xenografts in nude mice. We showed that intratumoral injection of adeno-associated virus carrying hTERTC27 (rAAV-hTERTC27) is highly effective in reducing the growth of the subcutaneously transplanted glioblastoma tumors. Histological analyses showed that rAAV-hTERTC27 treatment leads to profound necrosis, apoptosis, infiltration of polymorphonuclear neutrophils and reduced microvessel density in the tumor samples. To study the molecular mechanism of rAAV-hTERTC27-mediated antitumor effects, we analyzed the ...
Epidermal gamma delta T cells (γδ T) and Langerhans cells (LC) are immune cells altered by exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVB), a powerful stressor resulting in immune suppression....Full Text Available
BackgroundUnderstanding immunity, incidence and risk factors of the 2009 influenza A(H1N1) pandemic (2009 H1N1) through a national seroprevalence study is necessary for informing...Full Text Available
Effect of single and chronic irradiation on factors of hamsters natural immunity such as complement, lysozyme and antibodies in norm and in the cestode invasion has been investigated. Significant phase changes in the complement activity level, lysozyme content and specific antibodies tite have been shown to occur in hamster blood under the influence of ionizing radiation. Cestode invasion in irradiated host organism increases the negative effect of ionizing radiation on the hamster immyne system.
Immune challenge induces behavioral changes including reduced ingestion of palatable food. Multiple pathways likely contribute to this effect, including viscerosensory pathways controlling hypothalamic...Full Text Available
BackgroundAvian β-defensins (AvBDs) represent a group of innate immune genes with broad antimicrobial activity. Within the chicken genome, previous work identified 14 AvBDs...Full Text Available
Fifty-six tuberculosis patients and twenty-eight control subjects were evaluated in a comprehensive investigation of cellular and humoral immune function in pulmonary TB. The patient group showed significantly...Full Text Available
Abstract Aim:- To describe the first case of ceftriaxone-related haemolysis in a patient with congenital nephrotic syndrome (CNS). Background:- Severe haemolysis caused by an immune reaction to ceftriaxone has mostly been described in patients with underlying haematological or immune dysfunction. Case report:- The authors present a 20-month-old boy with CNS of the Finnish type with several previous severe infections treated with ceftriaxone, admitted for suspected sepsis. Following ceftriaxone administration he developed shock secondary to an acute haemolytic reaction, with severe anaemia. Hypersensitivity to ceftriaxone was documented through positive agglutination tests. Conclusion:- Onset of haemolysis following ceftriaxone administration, particularly in a patient previously exposed to...
Immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), and Hashimotos thyroiditis (HT) are autoimmune disorders caused by impaired self-tolerance mechanisms triggered by interaction between genetic and environmental factors. ITP is an immune-mediated destruction of platelets resulting in mucocutaneous bleeding, GBS is an ascending motor paralysis caused by an inflammatory demyelination of peripheral nerves, and HT is characterized by autoimmune-mediated destruction of the thyroid gland. The concurrent development of ITP and GBS has only rarely been reported in the literature, and GBS itself rarely occurs with other autoimmune disorders. We present a 21 year-old patient with known Hashimotos hypothyroidism that simultaneously developed GBS and ITP after an upper respiratory t...
Sphere-forming abilities in culture condition are considered a hallmark of cancer stem-like cells, which represents tumor cell invasiveness and stem-like characteristics. We aimed to show that the sphere-forming subpopulation of human malignant melanoma cell line WM-266-4 acts differently to zebrafish embryo extracts compared with their bulk counterpart. Spheres were maintained in neural stem cell culture conditions. The embryos of zebrafish at specific developmental stages were collected and the extracts were purified under 100 kDa. Spheres were treated with embyo extracts and proliferation assay and immunocytochemistry were conducted. Spheroid cells expressed nestin and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) but not melanoma antigen recognized by T-cells (MART)1, indicating their stem-l...
Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation provides the only potential curative option in many patients with hematological malignancies. Finding a suitably matched donor in a timely manner is often difficult. However, most patients have a partially HLA-mismatched (HLA-haploidentical) first-degree relative readily available. Historically, HLA-haploidentical bone marrow transplantation (BMT) has been considered extremely high risk due to high rates of life-threatening graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and non-relapse mortality (NRM). Modifications of the stem cell graft, such as T-cell depletion, have resulted in poor rates of engraftment. We have recently completed a phase II clinical trial of nonmyeloablative HLA-haploidentical hematopoietic BMT followed by post-transplantation high-cyclophosp...
The present study was aimed at investigating effects of nickel (NiCl2) on secretion of testosterone (T), cell viability, ultrastructure and apoptosis in mouse Leydig cells. Testosterone release was measured after 48h of culture with 15.67, 31.25, 62.5, 125, 250, 500 and 1000mmol/L NiCl2 or without NiCl2 using radioimmunoassay. Cell viability was assessed by a MTT (metabolic activity assay). Quantification of apoptotic cells was performed using TUNEL assay and the ultrastructural changes were analyzed using transmission electron microscopy. The viability was decreased after addition of >=250mmol/L NiCl2. A concentration-dependent depression of T production was observed. The percentage of apoptotic cells was significantly increased only after addition of 125, 250 and 1000mmol/L NiCl2. After ...
A recently-developed BMT method combines a ''Perfusion Method'' (PM) for collecting bone marrow cells (BMCs) with the Intra-Bone Marrow (IBM) injection of BMCs (IBM-BMT). As distinct from the conventional aspiration method (AM), the PM allows rapid (within 1 h) collection of BMCs without T cell contamination (Tcells < 10%). Therefore, no GvHD occurs. Moreover, the burden on donors, such as back pain, bleeding and infection, can be reduced. Full chimerism can be achieved even with only mild conditioning regimens if IBM-BMT is carried out, since IBM-BMT replaces not only the recipient's hemopoietic stem cells (HSCs) but also mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) with donor-derived HSCs and MSCs. Using this method, we show that most currently intractable diseases are HSC or MSC disorders, and that t...
OmpU porins are increasingly recognized as key determinants of pathogenic host Vibrio interactions. Although mechanisms remain incompletely understood, various species, including the...Full Text Available
Highly polymorphic genes with central roles in lymphocyte mediated immune surveillance are grouped together in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) in higher vertebrates. Generally, across vertebrate...Full Text Available
In a significant percentage of examined cases of fulminant hepatitis, subacute hepatitis, chronic aggressive hepatitis, liver cirrhosis and chronic persistent hepatitis, Australia (hepatitis-associated)...Full Text Available
Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) is a persistent environmental pollutant. The toxicity of HCB has been extensively studied after an accidental human poisoning in Turkey and more recently it has been shown that...Full Text Available
Monogenic autoinflammatory diseases encompass a distinct and growing clinical entity of multisystem inflammatory diseases with known genetic defects in the innate immune system. The diseases...Full Text Available
The human immunodeficiency virus Tat protein is essential for virus replication and is a candidate vaccine antigen. Macaques immunized with Tat or chemically modified Tat toxoid having the same clade...Full Text Available
Surfactant protein A (SP-A), first identified as a component of the lung surfactant system, is now recognized to be an important contributor to host defence mechanisms. SP-A can facilitate phagocytosis...Full Text Available
Malaria parasites must undergo a round of sexual reproduction in the blood meal of a mosquito vector to be transmitted between hosts. Developing a transmission-blocking intervention to prevent parasites...Full Text Available
Although cellular immunity has a crucial role during cryptococcosis, several in vitro studies have pointed out the importance of IgG anti-Cryptococcus neoformans antibodies and complement components...Full Text Available
Resistance (R) protein mediated recognition of pathogen avirulence effectors triggers signaling that induces a very robust form of species-specific immunity in plants. The soybean Rpg1-b protein mediates...Full Text Available
The objective of this study was to determine if inflammatory tolerance and enhancement of innate immune function could be induced by the gram-positive cell wall component peptidoglycan (PGN)....Full Text Available
Interleukin 2 (IL-2) and B-cell growth factors I and II (BCGF I and BCGF II) are lymphokines produced by T cells that play a major role in T- and B-cell cooperation. Peripheral blood lymphocytes from...Full Text Available
Israel has faced the challenge presented by epidemic poliomyelitis by using different immunization strategies. In the 1950s, inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) helped to reduce the total burden of...Full Text Available
Plasma exchange (PE) is currently being used to treat a variety of disorders involving immune complexes, such as polyarteritis nodosa. This procedure removes endogenous toxic components that accumulate...Full Text Available
BackgroundSeasonal influenza A infection affects a significant cohort of the global population annually, resulting in considerable morbidity and mortality. Therapeutic strategies...Full Text Available
Microglia provide immune surveillance for the brain through both the removal of cellular debris and protection against infection by microorganisms and “foreign” molecules. Upon...Full Text Available
BackgroundIndividuals living in malaria endemic areas generally harbour multiple parasite strains. Multiplicity of infection (MOI) can be an indicator of immune status. However,...Full Text Available
Cancer immunotherapies can be guided by cellular imaging techniques, which can identify the presence or absence of immune-cell accumulation in the tumor tissue in-vivo and in real time. This...Full Text Available
Over the last three to four decades, it has been observed that the average total hours of sleep have decreased to less than seven hours per person per night. Concomitantly, global figures relating to...Full Text Available
Glycoprotein 60 (gp60) is a normal plasma protein (mean concentration in normal serum 34 micrograms/ml) that is present in increased levels (mean concentration 97 micrograms/ml) in the sera of patients...Full Text Available
Many lessons in autoimmunity — particularly relating to the role of immune privilege and the interplay between genetics and neuroimmunology — can be learned from the study of alopecia...Full Text Available
A 30-year-old man with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and Kaposi's sarcoma had a palpable thyroid mass and cervical lymphadenopathy. Nuclear medicine and ultrasound scans revealed multiple thyroid nodules. Results of biopsy showed Kaposi's sarcoma metastatic to the thyroid.
Chemokine receptors control leukocyte chemotaxis and cell-cell communication but have also been associated with pathogen entry. GPR33, an orphan member of the chemokine-like receptor family,...Full Text Available
The cytokine interleukin-7 (IL-7) has essential growth activities that maintain the homeostatic balance of the immune system. Little is known of the mechanism by which IL-7 signaling regulates metabolic...Full Text Available
Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes are highly polymorphic components of the vertebrate immune system, which play a key role in pathogen resistance. MHC genes may also function as odour-related...Full Text Available
A unique antibacterial peptide derivative found in immune honeybee lymph, apidaecin 1b (AP1), was randomly mutagenized and characterized by a newly established system to analyze in vivo its structure-function...Full Text Available
Mass mortalities among seals and dolphins inhabiting contaminated marine regions have led to speculation about a possible involvement of immunosuppression associated with environmental pollution. To...Full Text Available
The importance of a properly functioning and well-balanced immune system for maintaining health has become strikingly evident over the past decades. Roughly since World War II, there has been an apparent...Full Text Available
Immunotherapy has shown promise in a number of tumor types, but its exact role in sarcoma remains to be defined. Advanced bone and soft tissue sarcomas are challenging diseases to treat with an unmet...Full Text Available
Understanding the interactions between herpesviruses and their host cells and also the interactions between neoplastically transformed cells and the host immune system is fundamental to understanding...Full Text Available
Heat shock proteins (Hsp) are a family of stress-inducible molecular chaperones that play multiple roles in a wide variety of animals. However, the roles of Hsps in parasitic nematodes remain largely...Full Text Available
We have developed a new strategy for immunization of wild rabbit populations against myxomatosis and rabbit hemorrhagic disease (RHD) that uses recombinant viruses based on a naturally attenuated field...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe objective of the study was to analyse the evolution of Bordetella pertussis population and the influence of herd immunity in different areas of the...Full Text Available
Eosinophils are associated with helminth immunity and allergy, often in conjunction with alternatively activated macrophages (AAMs). Adipose tissue AAMs are necessary to maintain glucose homeostasis...Full Text Available
Protective innate immunity to the nematode Strongyloides stercoralis requires eosinophils in the parasite killing process. Experiments were performed to determine if an extract of S....Full Text Available
The objective of this study was to develop a specific immunological diagnostic assay for yellow disease in hyacinths, using monoclonal antibodies (MAbs). Mice were immunized with a crude cell wall preparation...Full Text Available
The use of mice for the assay of tetanus toxoids would offer considerable advantages over the use of guinea-pigs, but mice cannot readily be immunized with the fluid tetanus toxoid at present designated...Full Text Available
BackgroundOne virulence property of Borrelia burgdorferi is its resistance to innate immunity, in particular to complement-mediated killing. Serum-resistant B....Full Text Available
The most characteristic features of the Lyme disease pathogens, the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) group, are their ability to invade tissues and to circumvent the immune defenses...Full Text Available
Chronic autoimmune or pathogen-induced immune reactions resulting in lymphoid neogenesis are associated with development of malignant lymphomas, mostly extranodal marginal zone B-cell lymphomas (MZBCLs)....Full Text Available
CSV consists of a very complex of molecules and demonstrates significant cellular activities capable of stimulating immune functions in vivo. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of...Full Text Available
BackgroundArsenic (As) exposure during pregnancy induces oxidative stress and increases the risk of fetal loss and low birth weight.ObjectivesIn...Full Text Available
Model systems to study the effects of chemicals of environmental concern on bacterial and parasitic diseases as well as the immunosurveillance and destruction of transplantable tumor cells were described...Full Text Available
Polyclonal antibodies were raised in rabbits by immunization with free peptides corresponding to positions 197-222 of the human beta 1-adrenergic receptor (beta 1 peptide) and the corresponding sequence...Full Text Available
BackgroundMalaria resistance by the sickle cell trait (genotype HbAS) has served as the prime example of genetic selection for over half a century. Nevertheless, the mechanism...Full Text Available
Naturally acquired immunity to Plasmodium falciparum malaria in malaria holoendemic areas is characterized by the gradual, age-related development of protection against high-density...Full Text Available
Abs facilitate humoral immunity via the classical mechanisms of opsonization, complement activation, Ab-dependent cellular cytotoxicity, and toxin/viral neutralization. There is also evidence that some...Full Text Available
BackgroundBlood group O has been significantly associated with increased placental malaria infection in primiparae and reduced risk of infection in multiparae in the Gambia, an area...Full Text Available
The decline in immune function with aging, known as immunosenescence, has been implicated in evolutionarily diverse species, but the underlying molecular mechanisms are not understood. During aging...Full Text Available
... A better understanding of the links between nutrients, the gut microbiome and the intestinal immune system is likely to pave the way to the development of innovative approaches that target activation of specific immunological pathways for promoting the hostrsquo;s gut defense. Such knowledge should positively impact on the development of vaccine formulations and intervention strategies for improved control of enteric infections in developing countries. Registration fees # The Registration Fee is $715.00 on and before September 7, 2011. # After September 7, 2011, the ...
Two candidate small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) corresponding to severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) spike gene were designed and in vitro transcribed to explore the possibility of silencing SARS-CoV S gene. The plasmid pEGFP-optS, which contains the codon-optimized SARS-CoV S gene and expresses spike-EGFP fusion protein (S-EGFP) as silencing target and expressing reporter, was transfected with siRNAs into HEK 293Tcells. At various time points of posttransfection, the levels of S-EGFP expression and amounts of spike mRNA transcript were detected by fluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry, Western blot, and real-time quantitative PCR, respectively. The results showed that the cells transfected with pEGFP-optS expressed S-EGFP fusion protein at a higher level compared with those transfected with pEGFP-S, which contains wildtype SARS-CoV spike gene sequence. The green fluorescence, mean fluorescence intensity, and ...
Large-scale field tracer experiments have been conducted on Ulchin, Wolsung and Daeduk sites for the purpose of validating FADAS and of analyzing the environmental characteristics around the nuclear sites. The most influential factor in atmospheric dispersion is the meteorological condition. During the experiment, meteorological data were measured on the release point and the selected positions among sampling points. Once radioactive materials are released to the atmosphere, members of public may be exposed through the environmental media such as air, soil and foods. Therefore, to protect the public, adequate countermeasures should be taken at due time for those exposure pathways. both processes, of justification and optimization are applied to a countermeasure simultaneously for decision-making. The work scope of Biological research for the radiation protection had contained the search of biological microanalytic methods for assessing the health effect by {gamma}-radiation and toxic ...
This chapter provides an overview of the problem of response to a nuclear weapon accident, the fundamentals of response to an accident, and a summary of the NARP Manual. The manual provides a summary of procedural guidance, technical information, and DoD responsibilities, to assist DoD forces in preparing a response to a nuclear weapon accident.
To assess the influence of a live attenuated oral vaccine against porcine post-weaning colibacillosis (PWC) induced by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) on mucosal lymphoid cell CD45 isoforms expression, experimental group of weaned pigs (n=6) was immunized orally with F4ac+ non-ETEC strain (day 0) and challenged with F4ac+ ETEC strain 7 days latter. Non-immunized ETEC-infected pigs (n=6) served as control. All pigs were killed on post-challenge day 7. The small intestine was excised for isolation of jejunal lamina propria (JLP) and ileal Peyer's patch (IPP) lymphocytes and immunohistochemical studies. The results obtained by immunophenotyping of isolated cells show that the proportion of CD45RA+ and CD45RC+ JLP, but not IPP, cells were higher in the non-ETEC-immunized ETEC-infected pigs versus non-immunized infected. Additionally, while CD45RA+ JLP cells increased only slightly, the expression of ...
In searching modulators of immunity and hematopoiesis among natural products, being used as foods, six herbs exhibited lymphocyte proliferation in vitro, and six exhibited augmentation of hematopoietic cell growth. The combined treatments showed synergistic effects of lymphocyte proliferation and of hematopoietic cell growth. On the other hand, we found four effective oriental medicinal prescriptions, used as energy tonic or blood-building decoctions, for survival and regeneration of hematopoietic cells and for protection of stem cells of intestinal crypt in irradiated mice. On the basis of these results, extracts from combinations of herbs were made in expectation of higher effects in the three respects. In immuno modulation activity by the two combinations of herbs was confirmed in mice. In culture of bone narrow cells, growth improvement of non-adherent precursor and induction of cytokine expression by herb mixture extracts were observed. In evaluation of ...
The antimicrobial peptide scygonadin (Scy) was first isolated from the gonad of Scylla serrata and its gene is predominantly expressed in the ejaculatory duct of adult males. Thus, its function was predicted to be associated with reproductive immunity, but this is still unclear and needs further investigation. In our study, the expression pattern of Scy at different developmental stages of both male and female S. paramamosain was investigated, so that the potential function of this peptide could be examined. Using real-time quantitative PCR, Scy mRNA transcripts were demonstrated obviously in the vulnerable embryos and larvae-zoea I but very weakly detected in the larvae-zoea III, megalops and juveniles. The gene expression pattern showed a decreasing trend during the early developmental s...
Understanding of probiotic-induced regulatory gene expression and networking is critical to further explore their roles in controlling infection. Transcriptional profile of selected innate immune genes in primary bovine intestinal epithelial cells was assessed over a time course of incubation with the probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum 299v. Based on gene expression results, a time point was chosen to prime epithelial cells with the probiotic prior to infection with rotavirus. Plaque assays and genomic analysis provided the basis for establishing the efficacy of probiotics in preventing a rotaviral infection. Plaque assays revealed that the probiotic is capable of decreasing (at least by 100-fold) the levels of live virus when the cells were primed with the probiotic. Results from gene expr...
Objective. Preterm neonates are susceptible to infection due to a combination of sub-optimal immunity and increased exposure to invasive organisms. Invasive fungal infections are associated with significant morbidity and mortality among preterm infants cared for in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) is a component of the innate immune system, which may be especially important in the neonatal setting. The objective of this study was to investigate the presence of any association between MBL gene polymorphism and nosocomial invasive fungal infection in preterm neonates. Methods. Codon 54 (B allele) polymorphism in exon 1 of the MBL gene was investigated in 31 patients diagnosed as nosocomial invasive fungal infection and 30 control preterm neonates. Results...
Oral vaccination is the most desirable immunization method by which to prevent fish disease occurring at the early larval stage. We developed an Escherichia coli-based oral nervous necrosis virus (NNV) subunit vaccine and demonstrated its effectiveness in orange spotted grouper (Epinephelus coioides) fry. However, the incubation period was determined to be over 2weeks. To enhance the efficacy and shorten the incubation period, a safe and digestible biological adjuvant should be found. Vibrio anguillarum, a common marine bacterium with immune-stimulatory capability was selected as an expression host. An expression vector containing its heat shock protein 60 gene (groE) as an inducible promoter was constructed to express recombinant NNV coat protein as an antigen. The recombinant V. anguilla...
Neuron-restrictive silencer factor (NRSF) binds its consensus element to repress the transcription of various genes. The dominant-negative form (dnNRSF) has a hypertrophic effect on cardiogenesis through an unidentified mechanism. We examined the involvement of transient receptor potential (TRP) channel proteins, using transgenic mice overexpressing dnNRSF (dnNRSF mice). Electrophoretic mobility-shift assays revealed an interaction between NRSF and a neuron-restrictive silencer element-like sequence in intron 4 of TRPC1 genomic DNA. According to RT-PCR and Western analyses, TRPC1 was up-regulated in dnNRSF mouse heart. Transient overexpression of TRPC1 in HEK 293Tcells increased the activity of the nuclear factor in activated T cells (NFAT) promoter and stimulated store-operated Ca"2"+ channel (SOCC)-mediated Ca"2"+ entry. Transfection of TRPC1 into primary cardiomyocytes increased NFAT activity, indicating a major role for TRPC1 in NFAT ...
Large-scale field tracer experiments have been conducted on Ulchin and Wolsung nuclear sites for the purpose of validating FADAS and of analyzing the environmental characteristics around the nuclear site. The most influential factor in atmospheric dispersion is the meteorological condition. During the experiment, meteorological data were measured on the release point and the selected positions among sampling points. Once radioactive materials are released to the atmosphere, members of public may be exposed through the environmental media such as air, soil and foods. Therefore, to protect the public, adequate countermeasures should be taken at due time for those exposure pathways. Both processes of justification and optimization are applied to a countermeasure simultaneously for decision-making. The work scope of biological research for the radiation protection had contained the search of biological microanalytic methods for the assessment of health effect by radiation and toxic agents, ...
Macrophage differentiation antigen associated with complement three receptor function (Mac-1) belongs to #beta#_2 subfamily of integrins that mediate important cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix interactions. Biochemical studies have indicated that Mac-1 is a constitutive heterodimer in vitro. Here, we detected the heterodimerization of Mac-1 subunits in living cells by means of two fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) techniques (fluorescence microscopy and fluorescence spectroscopy) and our results demonstrated that there is constitutive heterodimerization of the Mac-1 subunits and this constitutive heterodimerization of the Mac-1 subunits is cell-type independent. Through FRET imaging, we found that heterodimers of Mac-1 mainly localized in plasma membrane, perinuclear, and Golgi area in living cells. Furthermore, through analysis of the estimated physical distances between cyan fluorescent protein (CFP) and yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) fused to Mac-1 subunits, we ...
Electron beam therapy of lesions such as cutaneous metastatic carcinoma and reticulum cell sarcoma is performed via multiple portals for a wide irradiation field. However, the dose distribution in border areas is generally uneven, resulting in hot and cold dose areas depending on the intervals of the portals. We performed electron irradiation by the pendulum technique, especially on curved areas, and evaluated the technique in various respects. Pendulum electron beam irradiation is indicated when the length of the cone must be reduced in order to deliver the target volume near the skin surface as well as to avoid the occurrence of hot spots deep in the body. We prepared a 15cm rotating cone by cutting a 30cm fixed irradiation cone. The modification posed no disadvantages in terms of extent and flatness of the beam, or stability during rotation. After determining the relationship between the rotation speed and the dose, the technique was successfully applied to a patient with adult ...
Programmed cell death (PCD) is triggered when Pto, a Ser-Thr protein kinase, recognizes either the AvrPto or AvrPtoB effector from Pseudomonas syringae pv tomato. This...Full Text Available
Several early genes of murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) encode proteins that mediate immune evasion by interference with the major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) pathway of antigen presentation...Full Text Available
The threshold stress itensities for stress corrosion crack propagation in beta titanium alloy 38-6-44, Ti-3Al-8V-6Cr-4Mo-4Zr, has been determined in salt water and methanolic solutions. The alloy was immune to stress corrosion cracking in aqueous sodium c...
The declaration of the human influenza A pandemic (H1N1) 2009 (H1N1/09) raised important questions, including origin and host range [1],...Full Text Available
Two monoclonal antibodies, TAL-1B5 and TAL-3C3, specific for human Ia alpha-chain subunits have been produced by fusing P3/NSI/1-Ag4-1 mouse myeloma cells with spleen cells from a BALB/c mouse immunized...Full Text Available
BackgroundSelection of hepatitis B virus (HBV) by host immunity has been suggested to give rise to variants with amino acid substitutions at or around the 'a' determinant...Full Text Available
"Nine of CERN 's 20 Member States today a signed new Protocol on privileges and immunities. This brings the Organization into line with other European intergovernmental organizations, such as the European Space Agency and the European Southern Observatory, which already enjoy international status in all of their Member States" (2
The long pentraxin PTX3 has multiple roles in innate immunity. For example, PTX3 regulates C1q binding to pathogens and dead cells and regulates their uptake by phagocytes. It also inhibits P-selectin-mediated...Full Text Available
Interferon-γ (IFN-γ) has been shown to enhance anti-tumor immunity and inhibit the formation of bone-resorbing osteoclasts. We evaluated the role of IFN-γ in bone metastases,...Full Text Available
Toxin-secreting “killer” yeasts were initially identified >40 years ago in Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains infected with a double-stranded RNA “killer”...Full Text Available
A device for marking and searching for information on a magnetic carrier is described. In order to increase the noise immunity and reliability of the data recording and reading paths, the recording head is included between the amplifier of the clock pulses for the master oscillator and through the amplifier of the code pulses for the logical element unit. The reproduction head is connected through the code pulse shaper-amplifier with a switch which is connected with the display unit, and through another analogous clock pulse amplifier with a multivibrator.
We have previously described a monoclonal antibody (FA6-152), obtained by immunizing mice with fetal human erythrocytes [Edelman, Vinci, Villeval, Vainchenker, Henri, Miglierina, Rouger, Reviron, Breton-Gorius,...Full Text Available
A thorough understanding of the immune system, including the role of different cytokines, during inflammatory diseases in ruminants could lead to the development of new diagnostic methods and treatments....Full Text Available
The CNS is a unique organ due to its limited capacity for immune surveillance. As macrophages of the CNS, microglia represent a population originally known for the ability to assist neuronal stability,...Full Text Available
Control of pressure transients in a hydraulic system may be important and necessary to avoid failures and to improve the efficiency of operation. Flow restricting devices can result in a decrease in the peak pressure, but may change the response time. The response time has an important effect on both operator and operator perceived smoothness. The response time should correspond to how fast a system responds to a given disturbance at the system boundary. Occasionally the appropriate response time is not easily determined. This study is on the response time characteristics in the hydraulic system studied for the control of response time.
Dependent variables in research on problem behavior typically are based on measures of response repetition, but these measures may be problematic when behavior poses high risk or when its occurrence...Full Text Available
We quantified antibody responses to the HCV proteome that are associated with sustained virologic response (SVR) in HIV/HCV co-infected patients treated with pegylated interferon and ribavirin....Full Text Available
BackgroundReplication capacity (RC) of specific HIV isolates is occasionally blamed for unexpected treatment responses. However, the role of viral RC in response to antiretroviral...Full Text Available
Plant roots exhibit remarkable developmental plasticity in response to local soil conditions. It is shown here that mild salt stress stimulates a stress-induced morphogenic response (SIMR) in Arabidopsis...Full Text Available
An anomaly in the continuous X-ray (CXR) response of filled cables is described. A systematic investigation of this anomaly is pursued with a single cable type and a model explaining the anomaly is presented. The effect of the anomaly on the accuracy of CXR measurement of SGEMP response is discussed.
The dielectrophoretic (DEP) crossover method has been applied to the detection of cell responses to toxicants. Time and dose responses of the human cultured leukemia (HL-60) line were measured...Full Text Available
BackgroundVariable platelet response to clopidogrel has been widely observed. Studies have shown that the mean aggregation response to clopidogrel can be changed...Full Text Available
Behavioral responses to labellar stimulation with 19 L-amino acids were predicted on the basis of electrophysiological responses of largest labellar hairs. With the exceptions alanine, aspartic...Full Text Available
Purpose: Patients with mycosis fungoides [cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL)] may benefit from adjuvant therapy after completing total skin electron beam therapy (TSEBT). We report the results for (T1(T2)) CTCL patients treated with adjuvant oral psoralen plus ultraviolet light (PUVA) with respect to overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), salvage of recurrence, and toxicity. Methods and Materials: Between 1974 and 1993, TSEBT was administered to a total of 213 patients with CTCL. Records were reviewed retrospectively, and a total of 114 patients were identified as having T1 or T2 disease. Radiotherapy was provided via a 6-MeV linac to a total of 36 Gy, 1 Gy/day, 4 days/week, for 9 weeks. Beginning in 1988, patients were offered adjuvant PUVA within 2 months of completing TSEBT. This was started at 0.5-2 J/m"2, 1-2 treatments/week, with a taper over 3-6 months. Therapy then continued once per month. There were 39 T1 and 75 T2 patients. Six T1 (15%) and ...
Iron is an essential micronutrient. As an integral part of hemoglobin, it is essential for the transport of oxygen in blood to the tissues. It is an important component of cytochromes and other tissue enzymes that are critical for cellular respiration and of myoglobin that helps maintain oxygen reserve in the muscle. It is also involved in the normal functioning of the immune function, and in the synthesis of steroid hormones and bile acids. There are serious functional consequences to iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia (IDA) in the human body. The deleterious effects include increased morbidity, preterm delivery, low birth weight, delayed cognitive development, lowered cellular immunity and reduced physical work capacity. However, iron deficiency and IDA remain the world's most common deficiency disease in the 21st century. Recent estimates of people affected with iron deficiency and IDA are 3.5 billion. Iron deficiency anemia is most ...
Particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE) technique has been employed to perform elemental analysis of K, Ca, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Br and Sr for Syrian medicinal plants used traditionally to enhance the body immunity. Plant samples were prepared in a simple dried base. The results were verified by comparing with those obtained from both IAEA-359 and IAEA-V10 reference materials. Relative standard deviations are mostly within {+-}5-10% suggest good precision. A correlation between the elemental content in each medicinal plant with its traditional remedial usage has been proposed. Both K and Ca are found to be the major elements in the samples. Fe, Mn and Zn have been detected in good levels in most of these plants clarifying their possible contribution to keep the body immune system in good condition. The contribution of the elements in these plants to the dietary recommended intakes (DRI) has been evaluated. Advantages and limitations of PIXE ...
The present study was performed to investigate the effects of various levels of dietary Bacillus subtilis and chitosan on the growth performance, non-specific immunity and protection against Vibrio harveyi infection in cobia, Rachycentron canadum. Fish were fed with the control diet and six different experimental diets containing three graded levels of B. subtilis at 2 x 10^1^0 CFU g^-^1 (0.0, 1.0, 2.0 g kg^-^1 diet) for each of two levels of chitosan (3.0 and 6.0 g kg^-^1 diet). The results of 8 weeks feeding trial showed that the survival rate ranged from 81.3% to 84.0% with no significant difference (P > 0.05). The SGR (%) in the fish fed with dietary treatments was significantly higher than that of the control fish except diet 6 group with 2.0 g kg^-^1B. subtilis and 3.0 g kg^-^1 chito...
Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is the leading cause of meningitis in newborn infants. Bacterial cell surface appendages, known as pili, have been recently described in streptococcal pathogens, including GBS. The pilus tip adhesin, PilA, contributes to GBS adherence to blood-brain barrier (BBB) endothelium; however, the host receptor and the contribution of PilA in central nervous system (CNS) disease pathogenesis are unknown. Here we show that PilA binds collagen, which promotes GBS interaction with the ?(2)?(1) integrin resulting in activation of host chemokine expression and neutrophil recruitment during infection. Mice infected with the PilA-deficient mutant exhibit delayed mortality, a decrease in neutrophil infiltration and bacterial CNS dissemination. We find that PilA-mediated virulence is dependent on neutrophil influx as neutrophil depletion results in a decrease in BBB permeability and GBS-BBB penetration. Our results suggest that the bacterial pilus, specifically the PilA ...
The specificity of the hemodynamic response function (HRF) is determined spatially by the vascular architecture and temporally by the evolution of hemodynamic changes. The stimulus duration...Full Text Available
Senescence is regarded as a physiological response of cells to stress, including telomere dysfunction, aberrant oncogenic activation, DNA damage, and oxidative stress. This stress response has an antagonistically...Full Text Available
We explored transcriptional responses of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe to various environmental stresses. DNA microarrays were used to characterize changes in expression...Full Text Available
BACKGROUND: Cuba's response to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic has been to conduct mass testing of the population to ascertain seroprevalence, to enforce mandatory relative quarantine...Full Text Available
We present a technique for identifying the amino acids responsible for a loss of immunoreactivity in response to treating an antigen with a chemical modifier. This is of particular interest...Full Text Available
DescriptionPig production represents an important source of revenue for the agricultural industry of the UK. However as a direct result of environmental and animal welfare concerns European-wide directives are now in place which severely restrict both the non-clinical use of production enhancers/chemotherapeutics and heavy metals in animal production and also prevent piglet weaning prior to 28 days of age. These legislative events have had a major impact on pig production within Europe rendering current pr [continued...
The threshold stress intensities for stress corrosion crack propagation in beta titanium alloy 38-6-44, Ti3Al-8V-6Cr-4Mo-4Zr, has been determined in salt water and methanolic solutions. The alloy was immune to stress corrosion cracking (SCC) in aqueous sodium chloride solutions (marine atmosphere). However, in methanolic solutions, the alloy was very susceptible to SCC. This marked susceptibility in methanolic solutions can be mitigated by the addition of an inhibitor: sodium nitrate. Crack extension in the alloy was transgranular and failure occurred by brittle quasi-cleavage in methanolic solutions.
Astatine conversed into cationic form is shown to form stable complex with diethylenetriaminpentacetic acid. Due to this complex astatine joins RN_2 type monoclonal antibodies. More favorable conditions to prepare astatine labelled antibodies are found. Chromatographical analysis and electromigration experiments have shown that astatine is strongly retained in in-vitro biomolecule. Astatine did not escape from the labelled antibodies even in case of urea effect on them. Immune activity of astatine labelled antibodies remained similar in 20 h. 28 refs., 4 figs.
The repeated use and limited lifetime of a composite tiring vessel compel a need to survey techniques for monitoring the structural integrity of the vessel in order to determine when it should be retired. Various nondestructive techniques were researched and evaluated based on their applicability to the vessel. The methods were visual inspection, liquid penetrant testing, magnetic particle testing, surface mounted strain gauges, thermal inspection, acoustic emission, ultrasonic testing, radiography, eddy current testing, and embedded fiber optic sensors. It was determined that embedded fiber optic sensor is the most promising technique due to their ability to be embedded within layers of composites and their immunity to electromagnetic interference.
Visceral hypersensitivity is currently considered a key pathophysiological mechanism involved in pain perception in large subgroups of patients with functional gastrointestinal disorders, including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). In IBS, visceral hypersensitivity has been described in 20%?90% of patients. The contribution of the central nervous system and psychological factors to visceral hypersensitivity in patients with IBS may be significant, although still debated. Peripheral factors have gained increasing attention following the recognition that infectious enteritis may trigger the development of persistent IBS symptoms, and the identification of mucosal immune, neural, endocrine, microbiological, and intestinal permeability abnormalities. Growing evidence suggests that these factors ...
Significantly improved immunity to hot-hole damage of the SiO[sub 2]/Si structure is achieved by a shallow fluorine implantation into the poly-Si gate of MOS capacitors followed by a drive-in process. Compared to the nonfluorinated control, the fluorinated samples exhibit a dramatic reduction of both hole trapping probability and interface-trap generation under avalanche hole injection conditions. The degree of such an improvement increases monotonically as a function of the F implantation dose (up to 10[sup 16]/cm[sup 2]). Significant decrease of the hole detrapping rate is also observed in fluorinated samples. Possible mechanisms are discussed.
Repassivation resulting from the bared metal surface is a critical process for judging whether or not material suffers from corroding or immunizing. Nickel based alloys with high chromium content were developed to increase the corrosion resistant to sulphur compounds. Active humps resulting from active dissolution of nickel were obtained by creating the bared metal surfaces in thiosulphate solutions. The lower the Cr content the higher is the dissolution rate. The passive films formed on the bared metal surface were examined by ac impedance. Results suggest the formation of multi-layers oxide which were affected by active dissolution reactions during repassivation. (author).
Acquired cystic kidney disease (ACKD), also known as acquired renal cystic disease (ARCD,) occurs in patients who are on dialysis for end-stage renal disease. It is generally accepted that ACKD develops as a consequence of sustained uremia and can first manifest even before dialysis is initiated while the patient is still in chronic renal failure. The role of immune suppression, particularly in transplant recipients, in the development of ACKD, is still under investigation. The prevalence of ACKD is directly related to the duration of dialysis and the risk of cancer is directly related to the presence of cysts. Herein we review the current understanding of the pathophysiology and imaging implications of ACKD. (orig.)
With an objective to perform three-dimensional analysis with high accuracy in using the electromagnetic exploration method, characteristics in electromagnetic response were analyzed, and conditions for acquiring necessary data were discussed. The discussion defined a parameter called `response anomaly` which uses response from media to standardize response only from substances with abnormal resistivity. The receivers were located uniformly on the same plane, and the response anomaly was derived from electromagnetic response from each of the three horizontal and vertical components at each receiving point, which was expressed as a contour map. The parameter for the abnormal body was consisted of location and resistivity contrast with media. Discussions using the contour map were given on the response when these factors for the parameter were ...
Interleukin 2 (IL-2) is a T-cell-derived lymphokine critical in the activation and proliferation of T cells, B cells, and lymphokine-activated killer cells. It is a glycoprotein of #approx#15,500 daltons that is synthesized and secreted after activation by antigen or mitogen. By using the analogs 8-azidoadensoine 5'-[#gamma#-"3"2P]triphosphate ([#gamma#-"3"2P]8N_3ATP) and nicotinamide 2-azidoadenine [adenylate-"3"2P]dinucleotide ([#alpha#-"3"2P]2N_3NAD"+) as photoaffinity probes, the authors have detected specific, metal ion-requiring nucleotide binding sites on recombinant human IL-2 (rhIL-2). The specificity of these nucleotide interactions with rhIL-2 was demonstrated by saturation effects and by competition by the parent nucleotides at physiologically relevant concentrations. Saturation of photoinsertion into rhIL-2 occurred at 50 #mu#M [#gamma#-"3"2P]8N_3ATP. Saturation of photoinsertion with [#alpha#-"3"2P]2N_3NAD"+ was observed at 180 #mu#M. The extent of ...
The authors have found that heat-inactivated serum (57/sup 0/C for 1 hour) from normal chickens reduces the proliferation of mitogen-stimulated chicken and murine splenocytes as well as some transformed mammalian lymphoblastoid cell lines. Greater than a 50% reduction in /sup 3/H-thymidine incorporation was observed when concanavalin A (Con A)-activated chicken splenocytes that were cultured in the presence of 10% autologous or heterologous serum were compared to mitogen-stimulated cells cultured in the absence of serum. Normal chicken serum (10%) also caused greater than 95% suppression of /sup 3/H-thymidine incorporation by bovine (EBL-1 and BL-3) and gibbon ape (MLA 144) transformed lymphoblastoid cell lines. The only cell line tested that was not inhibited by chicken serum was an IL-2-dependent, murine cell line. Chicken serum also inhibited both /sup 3/H-thymidine incorporation and IL-2 synthesis by Con A-activated murine splenocytes. Suppression was caused by actions other than ...
In this effort, the nonlinear responses and stability of a spindle system supported by ball bearings are presented. The dynamics of this system is described by a set of second order differential equations with a nonlinear piecewise smooth force. The Floquet theory is applied to investigate the stability of the periodic solution. Due to the loss of contact between the raceways and balls in the ball bearing, the bending of the frequency response curves switch to the left at the weak resonance region, which is similar to the frequency response curves of a system with a soft spring. With the decrease of the bearing clearance, the bending of the frequency response curves switch to the right, which is similar to the frequency response curves of a system with a hard spring. Increase of the frequency ratio, the bending of frequency response curves transforms from left ...
Electrostatic torsional micro-mirrors have wide spread use in different industries for diverse purposes. This paper investigates the development of superharmonics and chaotic responses in electrostatic torsional micro-mirrors near the pull-in condition. Appearance of nonlinear phenomena is investigated in models accounting for and disregarding the coupling of torsional and flexural deflections. Analysis of the system response to step and harmonic excitation reveals the appearance of DC and AC symmetry breaking. Increasing the amplitude of harmonic excitation, the response in the form of distinct superharmonics changes to a broad band response, where there is loss of periodicity and the response becomes chaotic. Accounting for flexural deflections in coupled model reduces the voltage thresh...
Studies that estimate deficit probabilities in hydrothermal systems have generally ignored the response of demand to changing prices, in the belief that such response is largely irrelevant. We show that ignoring the response of demand to prices can lead to substantial over or under estimation of the probability of an energy deficit. To make our point we present an estimation of deficit probabilities in Chile's Central Interconnected System between 2006 and 2010. This period is characterized by tight supply, fast consumption growth and rising electricity prices. When the response of demand to rising prices is acknowledged, forecasted deficit probabilities and marginal costs are shown to be substantially lower. (author)
It is becoming increasingly evident that a linkage needs to exist between the siting of emergency response units and the routing of high level radioactive waste shipments. It is important to position the response teams so that the most efficient and effective emergency response can be provided. But the data needed to solve the siting problem are fragmented. This paper identifies the weak points in the data already available and suggests ways in which the data can be strengthened in a cost-effective manner. Among the weakest areas are estimates of the time required for various response events to occur, such as notification time, mobilization time, travel time, and containment time.
In modern quality engineering, dual response surface methodology is a powerful tool to model an industrial process by using both the mean and the standard deviation of the measurements as the responses. The least squares method in regression is often used to estimate the coefficients in the mean and standard deviation models, and various decision criteria are proposed by researchers to find the optimal conditions. Based on the inherent hierarchical structure of the dual response problems, we propose a Bayesian hierarchical approach to model dual response surfaces. Such an approach is compared with two frequentist least squares methods by using two real data sets and simulated data.
Eight patients, one male and seven females, with no pre-existing hypothalamic-pituitary disease, who developed symptoms of hypopituitarism following cranial irradiation for nasopharyngeal carcinoma were studied 5 years or more after radiotherapy. All were GH deficient. Four of the patients with no GH response during insulin tolerance tests (ITT) showed increased GH in response to synthetic human growth hormone releasing factor (GRF-44). Four patients had impaired cortisol responses to ITT, and gradual but diminished cortisol responses to ovine corticotrophin releasing factor (CRF-41). There was no significant difference between mean peak increments in response to ITT and those in response to CRF-41. TSH responses to TRH were delayed in five and absent in two patients; four of these had low free T4 index. Prolactin was raised in all seven ...
Tiered response is a basic approach to emergency plans, including oil spill response (OSR). This paper delineates a huge set of accidental scenarios within a certain tier of response generated by a computer during risk assessment. Parameters such as the amount of oil spilled, duration of discharge and types of losses should be provided in OSR scenarios. Examples of applications include offshore installations, sub sea or onshore pipelines, and localized onshore facilities. The paper demonstrates how to use risk analysis results for delineating all likely spills into groups that need a specific tier response. The best world practices and Russian regulatory approaches were outlined and compared. Corresponding algorithms were developed and their application in pipelines was presented. The algorithm combines expert's skills and spill trajectory modeling with the net environmental benefit analysis ...
Abstract Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) is an immune sensor for gram-positive bacterial cell wall components. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the TLR2 gene that impair its function may, therefore, influence the risk and outcomes of gram-positive bacterial infections. In a cohort of 694 liver transplant recipients, we assessed the TLR2 SNP that is translated into an amino acid substitution of arginine for glutamine at position 753 (R753Q), and we found that its presence was associated with the clinical characteristics and outcomes of gram-positive bacterial infections. The proportions of patients with the TLR2 R753Q SNP did not significantly differ between those with gram-positive bacterial infections and those without gram-positive bacterial infections (9.6% versus 9.6%, P = 0.999)....
Introduction: Tumor-derived heat shock protein (HSP)-peptide complexes (HSPPCs) induced immunity against malignancies in preclinical trials, working across tumor types and bypassing the need to identify single immunogenic peptides. These results paved the way for the use of human gp96 obtained from autologous tumor samples as an anti-cancer vaccine. Areas covered: Autologous tumor-derived HSP gp96 peptide complex (HSPPC-96) vaccine is emerging as a tumor- and patient-specific cancer vaccine, with confirmed activity in several malignancies. It has been tested in Phase III clinical trials in advanced melanoma and kidney cancer with evidence for efficacy in patients with earlier stage disease. HSPPC-96-based vaccine demonstrated an excellent safety profile, thus emerging as a novel therapeuti...
A new in vivo method has been developed for the precise observation of RES activity. Both Escherichia coli endotoxin 100 #mu#g/100 g i.v. (LPS) and radiodetoxified endotoxin 100 #mu#g/100 g body weight i.v. (RD-LPS, TOLERIN) increased the granulopectic activity of RES. The RD-LPS was more effective. The preparation containing trace elements also increased the activity of RES. The treatment consisting of the use of both trace elements and RD-LPS proved to be the most effective. The activity of RES was inversely proportional to various doses of X-ray irradiation (7, 8, 9 Gy). Trace elements and RD-LPS even improved the immunity system of animals having deteriorated RES. (N.T.).
Individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD) demonstrate an increased susceptibility to invasive bacterial infections (IBI). The most common organisms causing IBI are Streptococcus pneumoniae, nontyphi Salmonella species and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib). IBI are the most common causes of death in children below 5 years of age with SCD. Increased susceptibility to IBI is because of several factors including dysfunctional antibody production and opsonophagocytosis as well as defective splenic clearance. Early diagnosis of Hib and pneumococcal infections combined with antibiotic prophylaxis and immunization programs, could lead to significant improvements in mortality, especially in Africa. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2010;55:401-406. Copyright 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
The thymus is a key organ of the immune system in most vertebrates and, for this reason, it has been used in this paper for the generation of a normalized cDNA library from sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax), one of the most extensively cultured species in South Mediterranean aquaculture. A total of 1632 ESTs from this library were initially analysed for sequence quality and vector sequences and, after this control, 1264 (77% of total clones sequenced) high-quality ESTs were further processed. The total collection of D. labrax thymus ESTs has been deposited in the EBI-GenBank-DBJ database (GenBank accession numbers from FN565576 to FN566839). The functional classification of ESTs was performed by Gene Ontology and KEGG annotation and, successively, the sequences were analysed using the Immuno...
In mammals, primordial germ cells (PGCs) are generated in the extra-embryonic epiblast, and thereafter migrate into the developing gonads. Following the development of the gonads to the testes or ovaries, germ cells mature into sperms or eggs. In the present study, we report production and characterization of monoclonal antibodies (MAb) that recognize PGCs. Extracts from E12.5 mouse embryonic gonads were immunized as an antigen, and hybridomas were generated using the rat medial iliac lymph node method. The hybridoma supernatants were screened by immunohistochemical analyses of E12.5 mouse embryonic sections. The antibody, referred to herein as MAb 5B5, provided strong signals on PGCs. Moreover, immunofluorescence analyses using a variety of the tissue sections of mouse embryos revealed th...
Antibodies directed against markers on cancer cells are gaining in importance for the purpose of targeting diagnostic and therapeutic agents. In the past, this approach has had very limited success principally because the classical methods for producing antibodies from blood serum of animals immunized with cancer cells or extracts were unsatisfactory. The situation has changed dramatically since 1975 following the design of procedures for 'immortalizing' antibody-producing cells (lymphocytes) by fusing them with cultured myeloma cells to form hybridomas which continuously secrete antibodies. Since these hybridomas produce antibodies coded for by a single antibody-producing cell, the antibodies are called monoclonal. Building on these advances in biomedical research, it is now possible to reproducibly manufacture monoclonal antibodies on a scale suitable for use in cancer detection and therapy.
Objective: A growing body of data from genetic, immunological and clinical studies indicates an involvement of the immune system in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and suggests that the modulation of the cytokine system by antipsychotics may be one cause for the improvement of psychotic symptoms. However, the influence of the typical antipsychotics chlorpromazine and haloperidol, and the effect of typical and atypical antipsychotics on the TSST-1-stimulated blood cell secretion of cytokines, and specifically the interleukin (IL)-17 production have not been studied so far, although IL-17 is a leading pro-inflammatory cytokine. Method: We measured levels of IL-1@b, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-17 and tumor necrosis factor-@a (TNF-@a) in stimulated blood of 10 healthy female subjects in a whole ...
Introduction: Haploidentical transplantation, with extensive T cell depletion to prevent GvHD, is associated with a high incidence of infection-related deaths. The key challenge is to improve immune recovery with allogeneic donor T cells without triggering GvHD. As T regulatory cells (Tregs) controlled GvHD in pre-clinical studies, the present study evaluated the impact of an infusion of donor CD4/CD25 + Tregs, followed by an inoculum of donor mature T cells (Tcons) and positively immunoselected CD34 + cells in the setting of haploidentical stem cell transplantation. Patients and methods: Twenty-eight patients were enrolled in this study (22 AML; 5 ALL; 1 NHL). All received immunoselected Tregs (CliniMACS, Miltenyi Biotec) followed by positively immunoselected CD34 + cells together with Tc...
Currently, human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-mismatched/haploidentical allografts have been validated as an alternative stem cell source for patients who have no immediate access to an HLA-matched related or unrelated donor. However, relapse remains a challenge after HLA-mismatched/haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) that is employed in the treatment of patients with hematological malignancies. In recent years, newly developed immunomodulatory strategies, which include prophylactic and therapeutic donor lymphocyte/natural killer (NK) cell infusion, donor selection based on NK alloreactivity/non-inherited maternal antigen (NIMA), immune reconstitution promotion, and application of exogenous cytokines, have made it possible to decrease the relapse rate and improve outco...
Astrocytes have important immune functions in CNS, and astrocytes stimulated by interferon-g were showed to have direct antimicrobial function. However whether astrocytes without the stimulation of cytokines have antibacterial function, and how this function is regulated are still largely unknown. In this study, we found that primary cultured astrocytes inhibited the growth of both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria. Further more, we showed that interleukin-1b (IL-1b) enhanced the antibacterial effect in a dose-dependent manner, and the antibacterial effect of astrocytes from IL-1b receptor-deficient mice failed to be enhanced by IL-1b. IL-1b stimulated IkBa degradation, NF-kB nuclear translocation, and transactivation in astrocytes. NF-kB inhibitors blocked NF-kB activation and the ...
The results of nine years of study of the 237 patients who suffered from acute radiation syndrome (ARS) as a consequence of the Chernobyl accident are reported. Thirty-eight of these patients have died, 28 in the acute period in 1986, 5 in 1987-90 and 5 in 1992-93. The reasons for death show no clear tendencies. They include: gangrene of the lung, organic disease of the brain and spinal chord, hypoplasia of haematopoeisis, coronary heart disease, sarcoma and an automobile accident. Investigations have been carried out on an annual obligatory basis of the patients` haemopoietic, immune, nervous and endocrine systems. An analysis of the data is presented. Histograms are included showing the incidence of digestive tract, nervous system, respiratory and cardiovascular disorders, the frequency and degree of disablement and serum prolactin concentration. The types of skin damage sustained by 39 of the patients are listed. (6 figures, 3 tables). (UK).
Keratinocyte growth factor receptor (KGFR) and fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) 2c share identical amino acid sequences, except for a 46-amino acid domain in the extracellular region. Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) specific to KGFR have not been reported nor are commercially available. In this study, we generated murine MAbs specific to KGFR in non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice using a modified Repeated Immunizations at Multiple Sites (RIMMS) technology. Stable cell lines expressing the full-length human KGFR or FGFR2c were produced to facilitate the identification of KGFR-specific MAbs. Following the initial screening of hybridoma clones with a fluorescence-based, confocal cell detection method and ELISA, KGFR-specific MAbs were selected and confirmed by flow cytometry and Western blot ...
It is hypothesized that the good performance of Alloy 800 in steam generator service is due to its relative immunity to two distinct mechanisms of stress corrosion cracking; the argument also applies to intergranular corrosion. One mechanism operates in the high-nickel region (Alloy 600 and nearby model alloys) and is due to internal intergranular oxidation. The other operates in the low-nickel (stainless steel) region and is due to de-alloying of Fe and/or Cr. This latter mechanism may, under special conditions, operate in high-Ni, high-Cr alloys such as 690. Some essential features of the de-alloying mechanism are demonstrated using strong caustic solutions, and the prospect of extending this approach to dilute high-temperature environments is discussed. (author)
The purpose of this study was to validate through natural exposure a cut-off level of varicella zoster IgG as protective against infection with varicella zoster virus (VZV). Laboratory testing to determine VZV immune status of pregnant women exposed to varicella is recommended. Quantitative assays are now available which are sensitive and specific. More than 200 consecutive requests for screening in pregnant patients with recent varicella contacts were followed-up by questionnaire. DiaSorin LIAISON and VZV time resolved fluorescence immuno assay (VZV TRFIA) were used to measure VZV antibody level. One hundred fifty out of 209 (72%) questionnaires were returned; 14 patients developed varicella, 129 did not and seven were not known. Patients who had been given VZIG and developed varicella on...
In this paper, we investigate the epidemic spreading for SIR model in weighted scale-free networks with nonlinear infectivity, where the transmission rate in our analytical model is weighted. Concretely, we introduce the infectivity exponent $\\alpha$ and the weight exponent $\\beta$ into the analytical SIR model, then examine the combination effects of $\\alpha$ and $\\beta$ on the epidemic threshold and phase transition. We show that one can adjust the values of $\\alpha$ and $\\beta$ to rebuild the epidemic threshold to a finite value, and it is observed that the steady epidemic prevalence $R$ grows in an exponential form in the early stage, then follows hierarchical dynamics. Furthermore, we find $\\alpha$ is more sensitive than $\\beta$ in the transformation of the epidemic threshold and epidemic prevalence, which might deliver some useful information or new insights in the epidemic spreading and the correlative immunization schemes.
The effects of dietary plant and yeast cerebroside (glucosylceramide), a major sphingolipid in plants and yeast, on atopic dermatitis (AD) like symptoms were investigated in a mouse model. After 7 wk of feeding with a diet containing maize glucosylceramide, plasma IgE levels became significantly lower and in contrast, the levels of interleukin (IL)-12, which induces cellular immunity, became significantly higher in the AD mice than in the controls. However, the sphingolipid constituents of the skin fraction in the maize glucosylceramide fed group did not contain sphingoid bases of plant origin, such as 8-unsaturated sphingoid bases. The results of the present study indicated that dietary plant glucosylceramide prevented AD-like symptoms in AD model mice via regulation of Th1/Th2 balance. P...
Abstract Background- Cyclosporine is used for treatment of transplanted patients and for immune-mediated diseases. Cyclosporine is known to cause a combination of metabolic side effects including hypertension, hyperkalemia, hypercalciuria and hypomagnesemia. These side effects except for hypomagnesemia are the cardinal features of familial hyperkalemia and hypertension (FHHt), also called pseudohypoaldosteronism type II (PHA II). FHHt is caused by mutations in the kinases WNK1 and WNK4 resulting in an increase in renal Na-Cl cotransporter (NCC) apical distribution and function. Therefore, we studied whether cyclosporine-s metabolic side effects are mediated by WNK4 and NCC. Design- Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were treated by cyclosporine 25-mg-kg-1 subcutaneously for 14-days. Blood pressure, ...
The optically stimulated luminescent (OSL) radiation dosimeter technically surveys a wide dynamic measurement range and a high sensitivity. Optical fiber dosimeters provide capability for remote monitoring of the radiation in the locations which are difficult-to-access and hazardous. In addition, optical fiber dosimeters are immune to electrical and radio-frequency interference. In this paper, a novel remote optical fiber radiation dosimeter is described. The optical fiber dosimeter takes advantage of the charge trapping materials CaS:Ce, Sm that exhibit OSL. The measuring range of the dosimeter is from 0.1 to 100 Gy. The equipment is relatively simple and small in size, and has low power consumption. This device is suitable for measuring the space radiation dose and also can be used in high radiation dose condition and other dangerous radiation occasions. (authors)
p53 plays a critical role in tumor suppression. As a transcription factor, in response to stress signals, p53 regulates its target genes and initiates stress responses, including cell cycle arrest,...Full Text Available
BackgroundIt remains unclear if certain antiretroviral medications, particularly abacavir, compromise response to hepatitis C virus (HCV) therapy. Such data can inform...Full Text Available
Pooling and synthesizing signals across different senses often enhances responses to the event from which they are derived. Here we examine whether multisensory response enhancements are attributable...Full Text Available
The effects of response effort on safe behaviors (i.e., glove wearing, hand sanitizing, and electrical outlet replacement) exhibited by therapists at an autism treatment center were examined. Participants...Full Text Available
Separate groups of rats received 500 trials of lever-press training under autoshaping (food delivery followed 10-second lever presentations, or occurred immediately following a response); operant conditioning...Full Text Available
Individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) often exhibit impaired executive function, particularly in experimental tasks that involve response conflict and require adaptive behavioral...Full Text Available
The oxytocin and prolactin responses to suckling were measured in 10 women in early (n = 5) and established lactation (n = 5). Oxytocin was released in a pulsatile manner during suckling in all women,...Full Text Available
There is increasing evidence that receptor-mediated events impact one or more stages responsible for tumor development in experimental animals and humans. Although many chemicals and endogenous hormones...Full Text Available
In vivo plasminogen responses to various stimuli were studied. Plasminogen-125I was prepared and used first for metabolic studies of plasminogen in control dogs. The average results were:...Full Text Available
The in vitro response of melatonin synthesis was assessed by incubation of individual whole pineal glands for 4 hr without or with different concentrations of isoproterenol in the medium. Pineals were taken either at the end of the 14-hr light phase (day)...
Populus yunnanensis was employed as a model species to detect sexual differences in growth, physiological, biochemical, and ultrastructural responses to cadmium (Cd) stress, nitrogen...Full Text Available
Neonatal bacterial infection in rats alters the responses to a variety of subsequent challenges later in life. Here we explored the effects of neonatal bacterial infection on a subsequent drug...Full Text Available
The response of the dissimilatory metal-reducing bacterium Shewanella alga BrY to carbon and nitrogen starvation was examined. Starvation resulted in a gradual decrease in the mean cell volume from...Full Text Available
This study deals with the torsional response of Ti-8823 and 18Ni (200) maraging steel. The effect of different heat treatments and the subsequent change in microstructure are investigated. In the case of the Ti-8823, a comparison was made between the solu...
BackgroundThe zebrafish is recognized as a versatile cancer and drug screening model. However, it is not known whether the estrogen-responsive genes and signaling pathways that are...Full Text Available
The ToxRS system in Vibrio cholerae plays a central role in the modulation of virulence gene expression in response to environmental stimuli. An integration of multiple signalling inputs...Full Text Available
Hepatic damage occurs in males and ovariectomized (OVX), not in proestrus (PE), females following trauma-hemorrhage (T-H). The mechanism responsible for hepatoprotection remains unknown. We hypothesized...Full Text Available
We have characterized the kinetic response of gene targets throughout the murine genome to transcriptional modulation by the glucocorticoid receptor (GR). In contrast to a model in which multiple genes...Full Text Available
Although management of warfarin is challenging for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), no prospective studies have compared response to warfarin among patients with minimal, moderate, and severe...Full Text Available
ContextResponse Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors [RECIST (unidimensional)], World Health Organization [WHO (bi-dimensional)] and European Association for Study...Full Text Available
Osteoblasts are the primary cells responsible for bone formation. They also support osteoclast formation from bone marrow precursors in response to osteotropic factors by inducing receptor activator...Full Text Available
Although humans vary in their response to chemicals, comprehensive measures of susceptibility have generally not been incorporated into human risk assessment. The U.S. EPA dose-response-based risk assessments...Full Text Available
Gene arrays containing all currently known open reading frames of Bacillus subtilis were used to examine the general stress response of Bacillus. By proteomics, transcriptional...Full Text Available
Zinc is an essential trace metal ion for growth, but an excess of Zn is toxic and microorganisms express diverse resistance mechanisms. To understand global bacterial responses to excess Zn, we conducted...Full Text Available
The effects of 2 forms of response interruption and redirection (RIRD)—motor RIRD and vocal RIRD—were examined with 4 boys with autism to evaluate further the effects of this intervention...Full Text Available
BackgroundProfessionalism is a difficult construct to define in medical students but aspects of this concept may be important in predicting the risk of postgraduate misconduct. For...Full Text Available
BackgroundCells dynamically adapt their gene expression patterns in response to various stimuli. This response is orchestrated into a number of gene expression modules consisting...Full Text Available
In response to oxidative stress, the transcription factor NF-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) controls the fate of cells through transcriptional upregulation of antioxidant response element (ARE)-bearing...Full Text Available
Although skin is usually exposed during human exposures to ionizing radiation, there have been no thorough examinations of the transcriptional response of skin fibroblasts and keratinocytes...Full Text Available
Definition of the T-lymphocyte responses to dengue viruses should aid in the development of safe and effective vaccines and help to explain the pathophysiology of dengue hemorrhagic fever and dengue...Full Text Available
Food-deprived pigeons were presented with a row of four response keys situated above a grain hopper aperture. At the start of a trial, three of four keys were randomly selected and illuminated white...Full Text Available
... gov Data Privacy, Emergency Response, Weather Prediction to Benefit from Information Technology ... detection, simulation and prediction of high-impact local weather, such as thunderstorms and ...
BackgroundThe elevated serum and peritoneal cytokine concentrations responsible for the systemic response syndrome (SIRS) and multiorgan failure in patients with severe acute pancreatitis...Full Text Available
A compensatory response, viz. in vivo recovery from radiation damage to mitochondria, occurs in preclimacteric pear fruits (Pyrus communis L.) treated with ionizing...Full Text Available
1. The effect of capsaicin pre-treatment on adrenal catecholamine (CA) secretion in response to stress is controversial. In earlier experiments performed under pentobarbitone anaesthesia, the release...Full Text Available
ObjectiveTo analyze the effect of CO2 pneumoperitoneum on the inflammatory response induced by sepsis during laparoscopy.Summary Background DataA...Full Text Available
A rhabdomyosarcoma in a WAG/Rij rat with capacity for colony growth after tumour excision and enzymatic dissociation has been used to study response to high and low LET radiation. End points are tumor...Full Text Available
SummaryActivating transcription factor 2 (ATF2) is regulated by JNK/p38 in response to stress. Here, we demonstrate that the protein kinase ATM phosphorylates ATF2 on serines...Full Text Available
A search for homologs of the Bacillus subtilis PhoP response regulator in the group A streptococcus (GAS) genome revealed three good candidates. Inactivation of one of these, recently...Full Text Available
The disordered eating response team developed a protocol for assessment and intervention for athletes who are identified as at risk for disordered eating. Team members included the team physician,...Full Text Available
... they assisted in the 2000 attack on the USS Cole? ... List the types of targets that ETA has attacked. ... was at least partially responsible for the attack. ...
The purpose of this document is to describe the NIF Project Organization and the roles and responsibilities of the managers charged with executing the Project.
disciplinary methods were used to independently determine the aerodynamic loads, the thermal response, and strardural performance of the hydrogen cooled ...
... CJCSI 3141.01C, Responsibilities for the Management and ... of a multivolume set of CJCS unclassified and ... (1) CJCSM 3122.01A, Joint Operation ...
Dynamic response of pipelines buried in a back-filled rectangular trench in a semi-infinite medium has been investigated. The pipelines are modeled as long cylindrical shells of small thickness. By using the boundary integral representation and finite element method, we have studied the three-dimensional response to account for either pane P or SV wave incident at an arbitrary angle to the pipe-axis. In this paper numerical results are presented for the normal displacements, displacements along pipe-axis, and the hoop stresses in the pipe wall. It is shown that the response depends critically on the back-filled material as well as on the directions of propagation of the incident waves.
The objective of this animation is to develop a QTL mapping population for locating and characterizing the genes responsible for resistance to tan spot disease of wheat.
... Deepwater Horizon leak in the Gulf of Mexico, the Haitian earthquake and subsequent response, release of information by WikiLeaks, the Icelandic ...
To determine the transient response of linear and time-invariant transmission systems which are only described for discret frequencies, it is possible to find a good functional approximation by means of the generalized impulse method, combined with the most important natural spline-interpolation functions of the first and the third degree. This procedure has been applied to calculate the step response of the transient behaviour of the zero-sequence impedance system of the high voltage transmission line.
When used for tissue-equivalent monitoring, the thermoluminescence material LiF:Mg, Cu, P shows an 'under-response' to low-energy photons. This paper explores a new way to increase its low-energy response effectively, and to make it adjustable to some extent, by adding elements with high Z{sub eff}. At the same time its excellent thermoluminescente (TL) performance is maintained. (author).
To determine if the enhanced glycemic response to epinephrine in patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) is the result of increased adrenergic sensitivity per se, increased glucagon...Full Text Available
A computer program 'CPA simulator' has been designed to simulate the response parameters of a typical charge preamplifier (CPA) used in nuclear front-end electronics. The response parameters are studied considering three common connection methods between the detector and the CPA. The simulator predicts and illustrates the role and influence of the different components of the CPA and detector circuits.
According to its relation to the dielectric response, the potential structure of CsH{sub 2}PO{sub 4} can successfully be modelled either as a three-well or as a single-well potential. The deviation from the Curie-Weiss law of the dielectric response has an intimate relationship to the low central potential in the unit cells, while ordering P atoms are assumed to drive its ferroelectric phase transition. (author)
The evolution of "humanized" (i.e., free of animal sourced reagents) and ultimately chemically defined culture systems for human embryo stem cell (hESC) isolation and culture is of importance to improving their efficacy and safety in research and therapeutic applications. This can be achieved by integration of a multitude of individual approaches to replace or eliminate specific animal sourced reagents into a single comprehensive protocol. In the present study our objective was to integrate strategies obviating reliance on some of the most poorly defined and path-critical factors associated with hESC derivation, namely the use of animal immune compliment to isolate embryo inner cell mass, and animal sourced serum products and feeder cells to sustain hESC growth and attachment. As a result we report the derivation of six new hESC lines isolated by outgrowth from whole blastocysts on an extracellular matrix substrate of purified human laminin (Ln) with transitional ...
Adjuvant-induced arthritis in rats is a chronic inflammatory disease, widely as an animal model for rheumatoid arthritis. In our study the effect of various fractions of dialyzable leukocyte extract (DLE): DLE I-molecular weight below 10 kDa (commercial preparation), DLE II-molecular weight below 5 kDa (suppressor fraction), DLE III-molecular weight 5-10 kDa on rat adjuvant-induced arthritis was studied. The adjuvant arthritic (AA) rats were treated with DLE fractions i.p. in solutions containing an active substance isolated from 12.5 x 10{sup 6} and 6.25 x 10{sup 6} leukocytes from day 1 (adjuvant injected) through day 18, every second day (total 9 times). Various markers in inflammation, immune function and joint destruction were evaluated: hind paw volume, serum hyaluronic acid, serum albumin and biopterin in urine. All these markers showed a significant improvement after using fraction DLE II in comparison with AA controls. Fractions DLE I and DLE III ...
Aims We tested cardiovascular and visceromotor reflex (VMR) responses to urinary bladder distension (UBD) in urethane anesthetized rats to see if it can replicate the response pattern and the inhibition of bladder nociceptive transmission by analgesics seen in isoflurane anesthetized animals. Methods Female Sprague-Dawley rats under 3% isoflurane anesthesia were acutely instrumented with jugular venous, carotid arterial, and bladder cannulas for drug administration, blood pressure (BP) measurement, and bladder distension, respectively. Needle electrodes were placed directly into the abdominal musculature to measure myoelectrical activity subsequent to phasic UBD (30 sec in 3 min intervals). A cardiovascular response (pressor) and a VMR response (a contraction of abdominal and hind limb mus...
The seismic analysis of nuclear island of Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) was just in accordance with the approaches in RCC-G standard for the model M310 in France, in which the simplified impedance matrix method was employed for the consideration of soil's function. In this paper the more sophisticated 3D half-space continuum impedance method based on the Green functions is used to analyze the function of soil. In addition, multi-group of input time histories was used in the seismic response analysis in the existing design and their average of responses for each group was taken as the design basis. The same multi-group of input time histories was used in the seismic response analysis in this study, but the average and enveloped value of responses for each case are calculated respectively to account for the uncertainty of input motions. Focused on the above two issues, the seismic ...
To evaluate the role of positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) in staging and determining early treatment response to chemotherapy in children with neuroblastoma (NB) and its correlation with the final outcome. Patients and Methods: Seventeen patients of NB with mean age of 51.5 months (age range 2-132 months; 14 males, 3 females) underwent serial "1"8F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET-CT imaging. All 17 patients were for staging before any treatment. Twelve of 17 patients underwent "1"3"1I meta-iodobezylguanidine (MIBG) scan and bone scan. MIBG uptake was seen in the primary lesion in 11/12 patients. MIBG uptake in bones was seen in 3/12 patients. All bone lesions were concordant on MIBG and bone scan. Early response to chemotherapy was evaluated after two cycles using PET-CT. A 30% reduction in longest diameter was taken as cut-off value for response on CT based on the response ...
A simple, short and sensitive direct radio-immunoassay technique for the determination of salivary cortisol concentration was employed to assess saliva as a medium for evaluating cortisol response during endocrine testing in 9 controls and 40 patients. Results in controls suggested that an adequate salivary cortisol response to insulin hypoglycaemia was an increase of 150% above the basal value with a minimum peak of 15 nmol/l. Thirty-three patients were classified as being either good or poor responders to insulin hypoglycaemia on the basis of criteria for plasma cortisol levels. When the defined salivary cortisol response was used for assessment, all 33 patients were correctly categorized into the same response groups. The salivary cortisol response to intramuscular tetracosactin in 3 patients and an intravenous dexamethasone infusion in 4 patients confirmed the value of saliva as ...
This paper described the Geographic Response Information Network (GRIN) project which was launched to address some of the logistical challenges that often complicate oil spill and emergency response operations. The objective of the project was to develop a computer-based tool for incident logistics to organize maps and data related to oil spills, safety, public relations and basic community resources. In addition to its use for oil spill response planning, the data available can be useful for all-hazards emergency response planning. Early prototypes of the GRIN used PowerPoint slides to organize basic information about coastal communities in Alaska. With time, hyper text markup language (html) was used as the programming format because it can be more readily hyper-linked. Currently, GRIN is organized as a web page with the following 5 categories of information: general, liaison, public information, ...
The objective of this project were to investigate the dynamic behavior of peat and to evaluate the influence of that behavior on the dynamic response of peat deposits. During the course of the research, the objectives were expanded to explore the effects of strong earthquake shaking on pile foundations embedded in peat deposits. An experimental investigation was undertaken using samples of a peat deposit typical of many large peat deposits in western Washington. A series of ground response analyses was performed to investigate the seismic response of peat deposits. Three vertical profiles through Mercer Slough were analyzed using both equivalent linear and nonlinear ground response analyses. The analyses showed that the soft nature of the Mercer Slough peat would produce amplification of the long-period components of an earthquake ground motion. Comparison of the equivalent linear and nonlinear ground ...
Several enzymes of the metabolic pathways responsible for metabolism of cytosolic ribonucleotides and deoxyribonucleotides are located in mitochondria. Studies described in this paper suggest dysfunction of the mitochondria to affect these metabolic pathways and limit the available levels of cytosolic ribonucleotides and deoxyribonucleotides, which in turn can result in aberrant RNA and DNA synthesis. Mitochondrial dysfunction has been linked to genomic instability, and it is possible that the limiting effect of mitochondrial dysfunction on the levels of nucleotides and resulting aberrant RNA and DNA synthesis in part can be responsible for this link. This paper summarizes the parts of the metabolic pathways responsible for nucleotide metabolism that can be affected by mitochondrial dysfunction.
This paper explores the feasibility of integrating energyefficiency program evaluation with the emerging need for the evaluationof programs from different "energy cultures" (demand response, renewableenergy, and climate change). The paper reviews key features andinformation needs of the energy cultures and critically reviews theopportunities and challenges associated with integrating these withenergy efficiency program evaluation. There is a need to integrate thedifferent policy arenas where energy efficiency, demand response, andclimate change programs are developed, and there are positive signs thatthis integration is starting to occur.
National Nuclear Safety Department is authorized by Infra (Iranian Nuclear Regulatory Authority) for issuing rules and regulation and conducting the licensing and supervisory process for nuclear facilities. The main responsibilities of the NNSD are conducted via five main division are, nuclear codes and standards, Nuclear Safety assessment, Authorization, Inspection and Enforcement and Technical Support. In this paper, the functions and responsibilities of TSD in enhancing nuclear safety are described. Examples of main tasks to support the Nuclear Safety assessment division regarding to technical calculations and research of safety issues in licensing documents are provided. (author)
The reliability of outdoor radon concentration measurements using the track-etch technique is affected by the environmental conditions. Studies have been made to improve stability of nuclear tracks in detector material and to achieve a stable dosemeter response. A dosemeter was developed utilizing chemically etched MA-ND/alpha (CR-39) detector which is thermally insulated and protected against solar irradiation. The calibration showed that its response amounts to 0.21 {plus minus} 0.03 tracks m{sup -2}/Bqm{sup -3} day and was found to be in good agreement with theoretical prediction. (author).
The response of a real time neutron dosemeter using a thin LiF target sandwiched between tow parallel surface barrier semiconductor detectors is studied for different neutron distributions and different angles of incidence. Calculations of the response function defined for a simultaneous detection by the two detectors of the particles emitted when the reaction "6Li(n,t)#alpha# occurs in the target are fulfilled by geometrical considerations of the reaction kinematics and the differential cross section variations. Finally, the efficiency of the studied detection systems is analyzed for dosimetric uses. (author).
The idle speed of an internal combustion engine is controlled in response to a variable ignition timing control signal from a microcomputer. The microcomputer derives this control signal as a function of the magnitude of engine speed variation which occurs during engine idle periods to cause the ignition timing to vary quickly in response to a transitory engine load variation. An auxiliary air delivery system may be advantageously incorporated in the idle speed control system to cooperate with the ignition timing control in response to the engine speed variation.
The lateral natural frequency and vibration response analyses of the Large Scale Breeder Reactor (LSBR) primary pump were performed as part of the total dynamic analysis effort to obtain the fabrication release. The special features of pump modeling are outlined in this paper. The analysis clearly demonstrates the method of increasing the system natural frequency by reducing the generalized mass without significantly changing the generalized stiffness of the structure. Also, a method of computing the maximum relative and absolute steady state responses and associated phase angles at given locations is provided. This type of information is very helpful in generating response versus frequency and phase angle versus frequency plots.
The fuzzy polar power system stabilizer (FPPSS) which has been recently developed is analyzed using frequency domain methods. the frequency domain approach allows the PSS designer to compare the new FPPSS with more conventional controllers. The significance of the three FPPSS design parameters are readily seen from the frequency response data, and their relationship to the conventional lead-lag design approach can be evaluated. Furthermore, the frequency response data for the FPPSS allows an alternate design approach for this stabilizer, and can be used to develop information concerning the small signal stability of the resulting system.
We proposed and numerically investigated the influence of spatial symmetry on the terahertz frequency region response of composite planar metamaterials based on deformed split ring resonators. Compared with the original simple structures, the composite metamaterials with different spatial symmetries exhibited exotic electromagnetic properties. The electromagnetic response of a specific configuration with C4 symmetry was identical to the structure with simple lattice. Especially, for configurations with broken symmetry, very sharp Drude-like resonances with high quality factor were observed. The electric field and current distribution associated the resonances were analyzed for deep understanding of the underlying physical properties.
The purpose of a FAAT analysis is to estimate the probability of system upset to an electromagnetic threat, for systems on which we have incomplete information. As an example of this process, we will discuss the response of part of a telephone repeater system to wideband transients. We first estimate the currents induced on above-ground and buried cables. After that, we describe the simple circuit we used to build a model of the amplifier and protective devices. Finally, we describe the scaling of the energy deposited in the electronics, including its nonlinear large-signal response, with the amplitude of the wideband waveforms.
AbstractOBJECTIVETo provide an overview of the 2009 edition of the Rourke Baby Record (RBR), which incorporates recent research in the literature relating to preventive health care for children aged 0 to 5 years.QUALITY OF EVIDENCERecommendations are identified as supported by good, fair, or consensus evidence, according to the classification of the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care.MAIN MESSAGENew information and recommendations are given for growth monitoring, nutrition, developmental surveillance, physical examination maneuvers, immunization schedules, and advice for parents. Anticipatory guidance updates relate to injury prevention, infant swaddling, literacy facilitation, nonparental child care, parenting skills programs, serum lead levels, over-the-counter cough and cold medications, pacifiers, antipyretics, insect repellents, and dental care and oral health. The 2009 RBR is available in English and French in both National and Ontario versions and ...
Because of the equivalence principle, a global measurement is necessary to distinguish gravity from acceleration of the reference frame. A gravity gradiometer is therefore an essential instrument needed for precision tests of gravity laws and for applications in gravity survey and inertial navigation. Superconductivity and SQUID (superconducting quantum interference device) technology can be used to obtain a gravity gradiometer with very high sensitivity and stability. A superconducting gravity gradiometer has been developed for a null test of the gravitational inverse-square law and space-borne geodesy. Here we present a complete theoretical model of this instrument. Starting from dynamical equations for the device, we derive transfer functions, a common mode rejection characteristic, and an error model of the superconducting instrument. Since a gradiometer must detect a very weak differential gravity signal in the midst of large platform accelerations and other environmental ...
A rickettsia related to but distinct from the spotted fever agent, Rickettsia rickettsii, has been detected in 167 (18.9%) of 884 Rhipicephalus sanguineus taken off dogs in central and northern Mississippi. The organisms could readily be isolated in male meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus), where it produced massive infections in the tissues of tunica vaginalis. It was practically nonpathogenic for male guinea pigs, although inoculation of these animals with infected tunica vaginalis of voles afforded in 30 of 38 instances solid immunity to challenge with virulent R. rickettsii. The Rhipicephalus rickettsia grew well in monolayers of chicken embryo fibroblast, Vero, mouse L, and HeLa cells. Cytopathogenic effects were minimal unless large concentrations of rickettsiae were used as inocula. It also could be established in embryonated hen eggs but only after injection of massive doses of L cell-propagated organisms. Serological tests (complement fixation, ...
SRS high-level radioactive waste tanks will not experience erosion corrosion to any significant degree during slurry pump operations. Erosion corrosion in carbon steel structures at reported pump discharge velocities is dominated by electrochemical (corrosion) processes. Interruption of those processes, as by the addition of corrosion inhibitors, sharply reduces the rate of metal loss from erosion corrosion. The well-inhibited SRS waste tanks have a near-zero general corrosion rate, and therefore will be essentially immune to erosion corrosion. The experimental data on carbon steel erosion corrosion most relevant to SRS operations was obtained at the Hanford Site on simulated Purex waste. A metal loss rate of 2.4 mils per year was measured at a temperature of 102 C and a slurry velocity comparable to calculated SRS slurry velocities on ground specimens of the same carbon steel used in SRS waste tanks. Based on these data and the much lower expected temperatures, ...
Pitting corrosion of Inconel 600 was examined in chloride and sulfate solutions through usage of potentiodynamic polarization techniques. The effects of chloride and sulfate concentration were investigated in the range of 0.0001 to 0.1 M. Increasing chloride concentrations resulted in active shifts of the pit nucleation potential. Immunity to pitting corrosion was evident at a chloride level below 0.005 M. Increasing sulfate concentrations resulted in improved pitting resistance of Inconel 600 in chloride solutions. Detrimental effects associated with pitting were evident with low-level sulfate being added to dilute chloride media. The density of pits increased with increasing chloride concentrations or temperature between room temperature and 70 C. Systematic trends for the depth of pits were not evident. The observations of pitting corrosion in open immersion were consistent with those in polarization methods. Corrosion products contained in the pits were ...
The term {open_quotes}hazardous{close_quotes} waste is used primarily in reference to potential hazards to human health and, to a lesser decree, hazards to wildlife and the ecosystem. Many of the chemicals associated with hazardous waste sites are also widely distributed throughout the environment; therefore, the health hazards associated with hazardous waste sites are not different from those associated with general environmental contamination. Until recently, it was generally assumed that cancer was the human disease of greatest concern associated with toxic chemicals. In fact, most governmental regulations related to exposure are designed on the basis of presumed cancer risks. Since the evidence that hazardous chemicals can cause cancer is strong, it is appropriate to be concerned about cancer risk. Recent evidence, however, has triggered a reevaluation of the assumption that only cancer is of concern. New evidence suggests that noncancer endpoints may occur more frequently than ...
Lytic activity and recovery of natural killer (NK) cells was monitored in pediatric patients with leukemias (ALL, AML, CML, JMML) and myelodysplastic syndromes after transplantation of T cell depleted stem cells from matched unrelated (n = 18) and mismatched related (haploidentical, n = 29) donors. CD34 + selection with magnetic microbeads resulted in 8 x 10^3/kg residual T cells. No post-transplant immune suppression was given. NK cells recovered rapidly after transplantation (300 CD56+/@mL at day 30, median), whereas T cell recovery was delayed (median: 12 CD3+/@mL at day 90). NK activity was measured as specific lysis of K 562 targets several times (mean: 3 assays per patient). Four temporal patterns of lytic activity could be differentiated: consistently low, consistently high, decreas...
Epidemiologic studies suggest a weak link between occupational or residential exposure to extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields and cancer, especially tumors of the central nervous and hematopoietic systems. This report discusses these studies with reference to basic research on ELF EMF bioeffects relevant to cancer-promoting mechanisms. Many of the studies suggest a possible interaction of ELF EMF with the immune system, endocrine system, or growth-regulatory signals and morphogenic movements that involve calcium flux through cell membranes. Many bioeffects have been reported only with certain specific combinations of frequency, amplitude, and orientation of the EMF signal with respect to the geomagnetic field. The possibility of signal-specific effects raises a complication in dosimetry for both epidemiologic and experimental studies since ELF EMF effects may not be directly related to field strength. The report concludes with a discussion of design ...
Separate effect of impurities and alloying additions of phosphorus, silicon, boron, carbon, sulphur, magnesium, copper, aluminium and molybdenum on the tendency to intergranular corrosion (IGC) of quenched highly pure steel Fe-20% Cr-20Ni in boiling solution 27% HNO_3+40 g/l Cr"6"+, as well as in sulphuric and nitric acids mainly at potentials, corresponding to repassivation range, has been studied. It is shown that steel susceptibility to IGC depends on impurity nature and to a high extent is determined by the potential value independent of the way of its achieving. The most unfavourable effect on stability of grain boundaries is produced by microadditions of boron as well as by impurities of phosphorus and silicon. To ensure increased corrosion resistance of the investigated steel against IGC in highly oxidative media the pontent of phosphorus and silicon impurities unit should not exceed 0.01 and 0.2% respectively. At that, boron introduction into steel as a modifying addition is ...
The effects of gate and drain bias stresses on thin film transistors fabricated in polysilicon films crystallized using the advanced sequential lateral solidification excimer laser annealing (SLS ELA) process, which yields very elongated polysilicon grains and allows the fabrication of TFTs without grain boundary barriers to current flow, are investigated as a function of the active layer thickness and of the TFT orientation relative to the grains. The application of hot carrier stress, with a condition of V{sub GS} = V{sub DS}/2, was determined to induce threshold voltage, subthreshold swing and transconductance degradation for TFTs in thicker polysilicon films and the associated stress-induced increase in the active layer trap density was evaluated. However, this device degradation was drastically reduced for TFTs fabricated in ultra-thin films. Furthermore, the application of the same stress condition to TFTs oriented vertically to the elongated grains resulted in similar threshold ...
The effects of gate and drain bias stresses on thin film transistors fabricated in polysilicon films crystallized using the advanced sequential lateral solidification excimer laser annealing (SLS ELA) process, which yields very elongated polysilicon grains and allows the fabrication of TFTs without grain boundary barriers to current flow, are investigated as a function of the active layer thickness and of the TFT orientation relative to the grains. The application of hot carrier stress, with a condition of V_G_S = V_D_S/2, was determined to induce threshold voltage, subthreshold swing and transconductance degradation for TFTs in thicker polysilicon films and the associated stress-induced increase in the active layer trap density was evaluated. However, this device degradation was drastically reduced for TFTs fabricated in ultra-thin films. Furthermore, the application of the same stress condition to TFTs oriented vertically to the elongated grains resulted in similar threshold voltage ...
Persistent hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection affects 170 million people worldwide. Acute HCV infection is often asymptomatic, but many infected individuals develop persistent infections that may lead to development of end-stage liver diseases, including liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Thus, an HCV vaccine that could significantly lower the chronicity rate would have a major impact on the disease burden. Unfortunately, HCV is a highly mutable virus, and escape mutations can undermine vaccine-induced virus-specific immunity. Also, HCV exists as multiple genotypes, and so genotype-specific vaccines might be required to achieve broad protection. Finally, vaccine development has been hampered by the lack of a small animal model and cell culture systems, but these are currently being established. Despite these obstacles, several vaccine candidates tested in the chimpanzee HCV model have shown some encouraging results.
This Spanish-language master's thesis presents a study which measured special education teachers' knowledge of AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) virus transmission and their attitudes toward children with AIDS in schools. Attitudes were then related to social variables such as sex, teacher's age, and knowing someone with AIDS. A survey of 101 Oswego County, New York, special education teachers found that 52 percent had a moderate knowledge about AIDS transmission, and 48 percent of respondents had a positive perception of children with AIDS. Findings also indicated that teachers had received effective training and information about AIDS; teachers seemed to feel insecure about applying that knowledge to particular situations of possible risk; knowing people with AIDS provoked negative or inadequate perceptions of that population; and age, sex, and teaching experience were not related to teachers' perceptions or AIDS knowledge. Several recommendations are ...
The study of chemoattractant receptors on human monocytes had been limited by the lack of a radioligand suitable for use with the small numbers of cells routinely available from human donors. A new synthetic oligopeptide radioligand f(/sup 35/S)Met-leu-phe, with a higher specific radioactivity than was available with the tritiated compound, was used to characterize a chemoattractant receptor on freshly isolated human blood monocytes. These cells bind f(/sup 35/)met-leu-phe with a dissociation constant (KD) of 30.2 +/- 5.6 nM and contain 84,000 +/- 11,300 receptors per cell. f(/sup 35/)met-leu-phe does not bind specifically to blood lymphocytes. The specificity of the oligopeptide receptor on monocytes is indistinguishable from the oligopeptide chemoattractant receptor on human polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Using f(/sup 35/)met-leu-phe, it will now be feasible to study the chemotactic peptide receptor on small numbers of partially purified peripheral blood monocytes from patients with ...
This report is a survey of the English language literature of radiation biology between 1947 and 1987, for the purpose of compiling a literature base on the effects of radiation on animals, which have yielded results that can expand our knowledge about similar radiation effects on human beings. Articles were sought that reported exposure of adult mammals to external sources of ionizing radiation, having endpoints that included effects on the brain, the spinal cord, and behavior of the gastrointestinal, endocrine, and cardiovascular systems and the hematopoietic and immune systems. Effects of interest were those that occurred within the first 12 months after exposure. The survey does not include articles reporting chronic or long term delayed effects of radiation unless they provided insight into mechanisms of morphological and/or functional derangement. Information presented in the report is divided into subtopics (i.e., Brain-Morphological Changes). The brief ...
The optically stimulated luminescent (OSL) radiation dosimeter technically surveys a wide dynamic measurement range and a high sensitivity. Optical fiber dosimeters provide capability for remote monitoring of the radiation in the locations which are difficult-to-access and hazardous. In addition, optical fiber dosimeters are immune to electrical and radio-frequency interference. In this paper, a novel remote optical fiber radiation dosimeter is described. The optical fiber dosimeter takes advantage of the charge trapping materials CaS:Ce, Sm that exhibit OSL. The measuring range of the dosimeter is from 0.1 to 100 Gy. The equipment is relatively simple and small in size, and has low power consumption. This device is suitable for measuring the space radiation dose and also can be used in high radiation dose condition and other dangerous radiation occasions. Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (10475112), Western Light Foundation of Chinese ...
A patient with Cushing's syndrome due to a nonresectable chromophobe adenoma underwent external irradiation of the hypothalamic-pituitary area. The signs of Cushing's syndrome ameliorated subsequently...Full Text Available
We present modeling, simulation, and characterization for the dynamic response of clamped-clamped microbeams under mechanical shock. A Galerkin-based reduced-order model is utilized and its results are verified by comparing to finite-element results. The results indicate that the response of a microbeam to mechanical shock is inherently non-linear because of the dominating effect of mid-plane stretching. The effect of the shock pulse shape is investigated. It is concluded that the shape of the shock pulse can result in significant dynamic amplification in the response of the microbeam even in cases where the shock load is considered quasi-static.The combined effect of the electrostatic force and mechanical shock is investigated. The results show that this combined effect can lead to early ...
Introduction: Research indicates that music can affect heart rate, blood pressure, and skin conductance. Music can stimulate central emotions in the brain and release biochemical materials that change the physiologic state. We sought to compare changes in the electrical function of the heart in response to music. Method: Subjects were asked to listen to 2 types of music, namely, sedative and arousal music, in conjunction with two 30-second periods of complete silence. The experiment was conducted in 4 segments: the first and third parts were silence, and the second and fourth parts were music. First, the response to each type of music was compared with that to the preceding period of silence. Next, the responses to both types of music were compared. Finally, the response to music regardles...
He commanded the 50th Space Wing, which is responsible for 60 satellites. ... to produce space systems and launchers capable of tailored military effects on ...
Mycosis fungoides (MF) in deep-seated lymph nodes, spleen or liver appears to be associated with a lack of response of the disease to topical external therapy. Fourteen patients with mycosis fungoides...Full Text Available
Wade. Jackson. - Army. VTD at NASA. Langley. ABSTRACT. Panel size has a large effect on the impact response and resultant damage level of honeycomb sandwich ...
Age-related alterations in the cellular composition of the B lineage are a major cause of the poor antibody response to vaccination and to infectious agents among the elderly population. The mechanisms...Full Text Available
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) is a public health agency with responsibility for assessing the public health implications associated with uncontrolled releases of hazardous...Full Text Available
An almost linear optimization problem of importance in vibration isolation has been identified and algorithms were developed to minimize the forced vibrational response of structural systems. The constraints can be either displacements of accelerations. T...
Strategies are needed for assessing the risks of exposures to airborne toxicants that vary over concentrations and durations. The goal of this project was to describe the relationship between the concentration...Full Text Available
... Abstract : Iraqi armored and mechanized divisions crossed the border of ... quick response, the first elements of the 82nd Airborne Division arrived in ...
Methylisothiazolinone (MI) used alone is a new preservative causing a high prevalence of contact allergy. The eliciting threshold of MI is unknown. The combination of MI and phenoxyethanol enhances the antimicrobial efficacy of MI.
May 13, 2010 ... Abstract: On April 20, 2010, an explosion occurred on the semi-submersible offshore drilling rig Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico, ...
In response to changes in workload, the heart grows or shrinks. Indeed, the myocardium is capable of robust and rapid structural remodeling. In the setting of normal, physiological demand, the...Full Text Available
The mantis shrimp Squilla mantis shows a graded series of avoidance/escape responses to visual and mechanical (vibration and touch) rostral stimuli. A low-threshold response is mediated by the simultaneous protraction of the thoracic walking legs and abdominal swimmerets and telson, producing a backwards 'lurch' or jump that can displace the animal by up to one-third of its body length, but leaves it facing in the same direction. A stronger response starts with similar limb protraction, but is followed by partial abdominal flexion. The maximal response also consists of limb protraction followed by abdominal flexion, but in this case the abdominal flexion is sufficiently vigorous to pull the animal into a tight vertical loop, which leaves it inverted and facing away from the stimulus. The animal then swims forward (away from the stimulus) and rights itself by executing a half-roll. A bilaterally paired, ...
Rationale Hypothalamic?pituitary?adrenal axis dysregulation predicts poor clinical and biochemical response to antidepressants. Antiglucocorticoids have therapeutic benefits but most have a troublesome adverse event profile. Aspects of neuropsychological performance, notably working memory, are susceptible to corticosteroid modulation and are impaired in depression. Aspirin has been shown to attenuate the adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and cortisol response to physiological challenge suggesting its potential to act as an augmenting agent in depression. Objectives To examine the effect of sub-acute (300?mg daily for 7?days) aspirin pre-treatment on the cortisol awakening response and the effect of acute (600?mg) and sub-acute aspirin on the neuroendocrine and neuropsychological response...
SOME SCIENTISTS ALLEGE that exposure to electric and magnetic fields generated by electric power delivery systems is responsible for certain cancers (particularly among children), reproductive dysfunction,...Full Text Available
Behavioral responses to wind are thought to play a critical role in controlling the dispersal and population genetics of wild Drosophila species1,Full Text Available
Phytoremediation, a technology using plants to remediate or stabilize contaminants in soil, groundwater, or sediments, has recently received a great deal of attention from regulators, consultants, responsible parties, and stakeholders. phytoremediation ha...
The dynamic response characteristics of the VAWT rotor are important factors governing the safety and fatique life of VAWT systems. The principal problems are ...
... gap" between the arrival ofquick response forces, such as the 82nd Airborne Division and the ... nd Airborne is just exactly that, light airborne infantry. ...
Previous research with individuals undergoing surgery or diagnostic procedures provided a conceptual framework for analysis of radiation therapy, a common form of cancer treatment. The present...Full Text Available
The antinociceptive effects of honokiol and magnolol, two major bioactive constituents of the bark of Magnolia officinalis, were investigated on animal paw licking responses and thermal...Full Text Available
Context: Some studies suggest altered pituitary functioning and TSH production with aging.Objective: Our objective was to test the hypothesis that less TSH production...Full Text Available
We propose and evaluate a memory-based model of Hick's law, the approximately linear increase in choice reaction time with the logarithm of set size (the number of stimulus-response alternatives). According to the model, Hick's law reflects a combination of associative interference during retrieval from declarative memory and occasional savings for stimulus-response repetitions due to non-retrieval. Fits to existing data sets show that the model accounts for the basic set-size effect, changes in the set-size effect with practice, and stimulus-response-repetition effects that challenge the information-theoretic view of Hick's law. We derive the model's prediction of an interaction between set size, stimulus fan (the number of responses associated with a particular stimulus), and stimulus-re...