Retinoic acid regulates a wide range of biologic processes, including inflammation. This study investigated the effect of all-trans-retinoic acid (t-RA) on the constitutive and cytokine-inducible expression of monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) in rat mesangial cells. Serum-deprived mesangial cells exhibited substantial levels of MCP-1 mRNA, and the expression was markedly upregulated b...

Constitutive and inducible transcription of the major histocompatibility class II HLA-DRA gene involves the upstream S element and the conserved X and Y elements. In this report we have addressed the roles of spatial constraints and stereospecific alignment between the upstream S and X elements, and the X and Y elements, in both constitutive and interferon-gamma (gamma-IFN)-induced expression. ...

It is nowadays widely recognized that constitutive rules play a key role in social ontology. Their definitional character is the primary source of the meaning of every rule-based activity, but what can ensure the persistence of this activity? The most common reply found in literature is to rely on social acceptance; even though this is certainly true, it is nonetheless not sufficient to explain...

The relationship between the topology and collective function of a nonlinear oscillator network was investigated using nonlinear electrochemical oscillators. The constitutive experiments showed that the physiological robustness in the living system is due to their topological redundancy and asymmetry in the nonlinear network. key words: nonlinear oscillator, complex network, physiological funct...

Mechanical behavior of the Space Shuttle redesigned solid rocket motor (RSRM) propellant is studied from a phenomenological point of view. Motivated by the study of the experimental data three initially isotropic constitutive models have been developed. All models represent the e ect of strain rate, superimposed hydrostatic pressure, and cyclic loading on the stress and dilatation response of t...

In his recent book, The Opacity of Mind, Peter Carruthers advances a skeptical theory of self-knowledge, integrating results from experimental psychology and cognitive science. In this essay, I want to suggest that the situation is not quite as dire as Carruthers makes it out to be. I respond to Carruthers by advancing a constitutive theory of self-knowledge. I argue that self-knowledge, so und...