Natural killer cells express clonally distributed receptors specific for major histocompatibility complex class I molecules. The human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-C-specific receptors have been molecularly identified and cloned. They exist not only as inhibitory (p58) but also as activatory (p50) receptors. Here we show that p50 and p58 are highly homologous in their extracellular regions formed by...

We discuss the use of fixed and random effects models in the context of educational research and set out the assumptions behind the two modelling approaches. To illustrate the issues that should be considered when choosing between these approaches, we analyse the determinants of pupil achievement in primary school, using data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. We conclude...

An alternative to the classical mixedmodel with normal random effects is to use a Dirichlet process to model the random effects. Such models have proven useful in practice, and we have observed a noticeable variance reduction, in the estimation of the fixed effects, when the Dirichlet process is used instead of the normal. In this paper we formalize this notion, and give a theoretical justifica...

In this paper I discuss economic processes that may give rise to spatial patterns in data, and explore the relative merits of alternative modeling approaches when data are spatially correlated. Specifically, I present an estimation scheme that allows for spatial random effects, and focus attention on cases in which such a framework may be preferred to the more general fixed effects framework th...

multiple sclerosis (ms) is an autoimmune disease in which auto-reactive t cells react with self-antigens expressed in the central nervous system (cns). the main cause of ms is unknown. nonetheless, the most probable theory is based on molecular mimicry, which suggests that some infections can activate t cells against brain auto-antigens like myelin proteolipid protein (plp) and initiate the dis...

20(S)-Ginsenoside Rg₂ (1) has recently become a hot research topic due to its potent bioactivities and abundance in natural sources such as the roots, rhizomes and stems-leaves of Panax ginseng. However, due to the lack of studies on systematic metabolic profiles, the prospects for new drug development of 1 are still difficult to predict, which has become a huge obstacle for its safe clinical u...

Neuronal Nitric Oxide Synthase (nNOS) is the biosynthetic enzyme responsible for nitric oxide (·NO) production in muscles and in the nervous system. This constitutive enzyme, unlike its endothelial and inducible counterparts, presents an N-terminal PDZ domain known to display a preference for PDZ-binding motifs bearing acidic residues at -2 position. In a previous work, we discovered that the C...