Let A be a well-formed formula of first-order modal logic whose only free variable is x. We shall use the following abbreviations: Mat(A) for (x)[OA * 0~A] Form(A) for (x)[DA vD-i] Ban(A) for ((x)DA) v ((x)U~A) Pred(A) for Form(A) v Mat(A). We read Mat(A), FormjA), and Ban(A) respectively as: "A is material", "A is formal", and "A is banal"; Pred(A) is the assertion of the Principle of Predica-...

The vacuolating cytotoxin produced by Helicobacter pylori is considered to be one virulence factor causing peptic ulceration. In this study, we examined the activity of vacuolating cytotoxin in induction of intracellular vacuolation of rabbit gastric epithelial cells (RGECs). We used culture supernatants of H. pylori as a source of vacuolating cytotoxin and quantitated cytotoxic activity by the...

Preliminary EXAFS data has been collected on the molybdenum (K-edge) in C. pasteurianum formate dehydrogenase and the tungsten (LIII-edge) in C. thermoaceticum formate dehydrogenase. In the presence of dithionite, the tungsten enzyme was devoid of W = O bonds, and exhibited average W-(O, N) and W-S bond lengths of 2.13 +/- 0.03 A and 2.39 +/- 0.03 A, respectively. In sharp contrast, the C. past...

Europe and the United States further the development of new toxicological tools in different ways. While the replacement of animal tests has been promoted strongly in Europe over the last decades (following the 3Rs principles--reduce, replace, refine), in the United States the vision for a toxicology in the 21st century (Tox-21c), which was prompted by the National Research Council document onl...

Protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) functions as major negative regulator of insulin and leptin signaling pathways. In view of this, PTP1B is an significant target for drug development against cancer, diabetes and obesity. The aim of the current study is to identify PTP1B inhibitors by means of virtual screening with docking. 523,366 molecules from ZINC database have been screened and based...

Non-toxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae have become increasingly recognised as emerging pathogens across Europe causing severe invasive disease. A subset of non-toxigenic C. diphtheriae are ‘non-toxigenic tox gene-bearing’ (NTTB) strains; these strains are genotypically toxpositive, but do not express the protein. The circulation of NTTB strains was first observed during the 1990s upsurge of ...