Interaction between a T cell receptor (TCR) and various ligands, i.e. , anti-TCR antibodies, superantigens, peptides, or altered peptide ligands in the context of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules can trigger different T helper cell (Th) effector functions. Herein, we studied the T cell response induced by a soluble, dimeric peptide/MHC class II chimera, namely hemagglutinin (HA)...

Numerical simulations of re-entrant waves in detailed ionic models reveal a phenomenon that is impossible in traditional simplified mathematical models of FitzHugh-Nagumo type: dissipation of the excitation front (DEF). We have analysed the structure of three selected ionic models, identified the small parameters that appear in non-standard ways, and developed an asymptotic approach based on th...

(Def. 1) CastNatx = { x, if x is a natural number, 0, otherwise. Let W1 be a set. A sequence of W1 is a function from N into W1. For simplicity, we adopt the following rules: k, n denote natural numbers, a denotes a set, D, S denote non empty sets, and p, q denote finite sequences of elements of N. Let us consider n. The functor atom. n yielding a finite sequence of elements of N is defined as ...

Glass-box testing tries to cover paths through the tested code, based on a given criterion such as def-use chain coverage. When generating glass-box test cases manually, the user is likely to overlook some def-use chains. Moreover it is difficult to find suitable test cases which cause certain def-use chains to be passed. We have developed a tool which automatically generates a system of test c...

(Def. 1) CastNatx = { x, if x is a natural number, 0, otherwise. Let W1 be a set. A sequence of W1 is a function from N into W1. For simplicity, we use the following convention: k, n denote natural numbers, a denotes a set, D, S denote non empty sets, and p, q denote finite sequences of elements of N. Let us consider n. The functor atom. n yields a finite sequence of elements of N and is define...

Acute stress in both rodents and humans causes a transient rise in blood pressure associated with an increase in plasma endothelin-1 (ET-1). High salt (HS) intake also increases ET-1 production, and interestingly, blunts the pressor response to acute air jet stress in rats. We previously reported that female rats lacking functional ETB receptors everywhere except sympathetic nerves (ETB def) ha...

In situ methods are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of chemical amendments at enhancing reductive dechlorination rates in groundwater that is contaminated with the priority pollutant, trichloroethene (TCE). In this communication, a method that utilizes single-well, "push-pull" tests to quantify the effects of chemical amendments on in situ reductive dechlorination rates is presented and de...

PURPOSE The energy-yielding mitochondrial Krebs cycle has been shown in many cancers and other diseases to be inhibited or mutated. In most cells, the Krebs cycle with oxidative phosphorylation generates approximately 90% of the adenosine triphosphate in the cell. We designed and hyperpolarized carbon-13 labeled succinate (SUC) and its derivative diethyl succinate (DES) to interrogate the Krebs...

The regulation of human mitochondrial NAD(P)+-dependent malic enzyme (m-NAD-ME) by ATP and fumarate may be crucial for the metabolism of glutamine for energy production in rapidly proliferating tissues and tumors. Here we report the crystal structure at 2.2 A resolution of m-NAD-ME in complex with ATP, Mn2+, tartronate, and fumarate. Our structural, kinetic, and mutagenesis studies reveal unexp...

UNLABELLED Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neuromuscular disease characterized by motor neuron death in the central nervous system. Vitamin D supplementation increases antioxidant activity, reduces inflammation and improves motor neuron survival. We have previously demonstrated that vitamin D(3) supplementation at 10× the adequate intake improves functional outcomes in a mouse model of...