BACKGROUND It is already known that high concentration of vitamin C induces apoptosis on tumor cells. However, there is no report regarding the function of vitamin C on the modulation of immune susceptibility of cancer. Therefore, we investigated whether vitamin C can modulate immune susceptibility of tumor cells, especially on the induction of Fas-mediated apoptosis. METHODS First, the optim...

Successful hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) from an allogeneic donor ideally should produce tolerance to recipient alloantigens while preserving anti-infectious and antitumor immunity. Rapamycin together with costimulation blockade can induce tolerance in organ allograft models by inhibiting G(1) --> S-phase progression and promoting T-cell apoptosis. In contrast to blocking costimulati...

We recently reported that G-protein-coupled receptor 120 (GPR120) is expressed on taste buds, and that rodents showed preference for long-chain fatty acids (LCFA) at a low concentration. We also showed that the LCFA (1% linoleic acid) increased the extracellular dopamine (DA) level in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), which participates in reward behavior. However, the mechanism underlying the invol...

Horses are often kept in individual stables, rather than in outdoor groups, despite such housing system fulfilling many of their welfare needs, such as the access to social partners. Keeping domestic stallions in outdoor groups would mimic bachelor bands that are found in the wild. Unfortunately, the high level of aggression that unfamiliar stallions display when they first encounter each other...

During the rut, polygynous ungulates gather in mixed groups of individuals of different sex and age. Group social composition, which may vary on a daily basis, is likely to have strong influences on individual's time-budget, with emerging properties at the group-level. To date, few studies have considered the influence of group composition on male and female behavioral time budget in mating gro...

Different types of dominance hierarchies reflect different social relationships in primates. In this study, we clarified the hierarchy and social relationships in a one-male unit of captive Rhinopithecus bieti observed between August 1998 and March 1999. Mean frequency of agonistic behaviour among adult females was 0.13 interactions per hour. Adult females exhibited a linear hierarchy with a re...

In this paper firt of all we introduce a generalization of torsion freeness of acts over monoids, called -torsion freeness. Then in section 1 of results we give some general properties and in sections 2, 3 and 4 we give a characterization of monoids for which this property of their right Rees factor, cyclic and acts in general  implies some other properties, respectively.

Dominance status among female marmosets is reflected in agonistic behavior and ovarian function. Socially dominant females receive submissive behavior from subordinates, while exhibiting normal ovulatory function. Subordinate females, however, receive agonistic behavior from dominants, while exhibiting reduced or absent ovulatory function. Such disparity in female fertility is not absolute, and...

Aryl hydrocarbon receptor agonistic (Ah-agonistic) effects of 23 sediments from Wenyu River in Beijing, China were evaluated using the H4IIE cell bioassay. Five samples were selected for chemical analysis of most concerned Ah-agonists, i.e. polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), dibenzofurans (PCDFs), biphenyls (PCBs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). All raw sediment extracts i...

Agonistic antibodies targeting costimulatory pathways for the immune system hold great potential for cancer immunotherapy. However, systemic administration of immunoactivating antibodies can be associated with side effects such as cytokine release syndrome and liver toxicity. Polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) represent an exciting approach to control the release of therapeutic antibodies and to opt...