Oxidative stress plays a major part in the pathogenesis of drug-induced liver injury. Yet, overcoming it with other xenobiotics impose additional risks. In this study, we consider the use of natural-occurring and purified Vitamin E analogs as hepatoprotective agents. Vitamin E is well-known for its intrinsic antioxidant property even though the differential effect of specific analogs of tocophe...

Our previous studies have shown that vitamin A (VA) status is associated with antiviral immunity and pathogenic conditions in enterovirus 71 (EV71)-infected children. In the present study, we established an in vitro model to investigate the effects and potential mechanism of the antiviral activity of VA. Human monocytic U937 cells were cultured in vitro and infected with EV71. All-trans-retinoi...

Haptoglobin (Hp) scavenges free hemoglobin following malaria-induced hemolysis. Few studies have investigated the relationship between the common Hp variants and the risk of severe malaria, and their results are inconclusive. We conducted a case-control study of 996 children with severe Plasmodium falciparum malaria and 1220 community controls and genotyped for Hp, hemoglobin (Hb) S heterozygot...

Natural areas have been reserved for thousands of years. However, the reasons for reservation have changed with time. Natural areas management objectives have changed from personal/individual human needs to environmental protection. Unlike old protected areas, new protected areas have multiple management objectives. The management objectives changed from protection for now to protection for the...

Azelnidipine, a new dihydropyridine calcium ion antagonist, was protected by patent in Japan. In present study, identifications of the crystal phases, including two polymorphic and a pseudopolymorphic crystal forms of azelnidipine, were attempted using powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), IR-, Raman-, THz-, and ss-NMR-spectroscopy. PXRD identified three diff...

Plants evoke innate immunity against microbial challenges upon recognition of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), such as fungal cell wall chitin. Nevertheless, pathogens may circumvent the host PAMP-triggered immunity. We previously reported that the ascomycete Magnaporthe oryzae, a famine-causing rice pathogen, masks cell wall surfaces with α-1,3-glucan during invasion. Here, we s...

We study a random walk on Z which evolves in a dynamic environment determined by its own trajectory. Sites flip back and forth between two modes, p and q. R consecutive right jumps from a site in the q-mode are required to switch it to the p-mode, and L consecutive left jumps from a site in the p-mode are required to switch it to the q-mode. From a site in the p-mode the walk jumps right with p...

RATIONALE The small GTPase Rac is critical to vascular endothelial functions, yet its regulation in endothelial cells remains unclear. Understanding the upstream pathway may delineate Rac activation mechanisms and its role in maintaining vascular endothelial barrier integrity. OBJECTIVE By investigating phosphatidylinositol (3,4,5)-trisphosphate-dependent Rac exchanger 1 (P-Rex1), one of the ...