Interleukin-6 is a pleiotropic cytokine that has a major role in the coordination of the hepatic acute phase response. In order to more fully understand this role, we have examined the interleukin-6 induction of T kininogen, a cysteine protease inhibitor and a major acute phase reactant in the rat. Using deletional analysis and site-directed mutagenesis of T kininogen-chloramphenicol acetyltran...

Fetuin A/AHSG was first isolated by Pedersen in 1944 from the fetal bovine serum. In adult humans, fetuin A is mainly secreted by the liver and the adipose tissue and it acts as an inhibitor of ectopic calcification. Fetuin A is also related to critical aspects of cardiometabolic health in humans such as insulin sensitivity, glucose tolerance, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, atherosclerosis,...

Understanding the effect of two-phase flow in the components of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) is crucial to water management and subsequently to their performance. The local water saturation in the gas diffusion layer (GDL) and reactant channels influences the hydration of the membrane which has a direct effect on the PEMFC performance. Mass transport resistance includes contribu...

A two-phase 1-D pressure drop modeling scheme that incorporates the effect of local channel saturation on flow regime is introduced. The model provides a basis for extending two-phase pressure drop correlations from fundamental studies to more complex conditions within PEMFC reactant channels. The need for additional studies beyond the fundamental level is highlighted and key factors that separ...

Complementary DNA clones corresponding to the human serum amyloid P component (SAP) were isolated, and the complete nucleotide and derived amino acid sequence of preSAP was determined. PreSAP biosynthesis is directed by a 1.1-kilobase mRNA. Synthesis and postsynthetic processing of preSAP in Xenopus oocytes result in secretion of a protein with mobility similar to native purified SAP when analy...