Two families A and B of sets are said to be cross-intersecting if each set in A intersects each set in B. For any two integers n and k with 1 6 k 6 n, let ([n] 6k ) denote the family of subsets of {1, . . . , n} of size at most k, and let Sn,k denote the family of sets in ([n] 6k ) that contain 1. The author recently showed that if A ⊆ ( [m] 6r ) , B ⊆ ( [n] 6s ) , and A and B are cross-interse...

Aptamers are oligonucleotides that bind targets with high specificity and affinity. They have become important tools for biosensing, target detection, drug delivery and therapy. We selected the quadruplex-forming 16-mer DNA aptamer AID-1 [d(GGGT) 4] with affinity for the interleukin-6 receptor (IL-6R) and identified single nucleotide variants that showed no significant loss of binding ability. ...

Transcoelomic route is the most common and the earliest route of metastasis, causing the ascites formation in advanced epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). We demonstrated that interleukin 6 (IL-6) is enriched in the malignant ascites from patients with ovarian cancer, which enhanced invasive properties of EOC cells. Interestingly, the expression of IL-6R on cell membrane of EOC cells correlated wi...

In this paper, a new method was proposed for the navigation of a mobile robot in an unknown dynamic environment. The robot could detect only a limited radius of its surrounding with its sensors and it went on the shortest null space (SNS) toward the goal. In the case of no obstacle, SNS was a direct path from the robot to goal; however, in the presence of obstacles, SNS was a space around the r...

Introduction Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and soluble IL-6 receptor (sIL-6R) have been demonstrated to play a significant role as inflammatory mediators in systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (SJIA). Tocilizumab, a humanized anti-IL-6 receptor antibody, becomes a new biologic treatment for SJIA nowadays but the correlation of serum IL-6 levels and serum sIL-6R levels with disease activity in SJIA wi...

IBD: Inflammatory Bowel Disease ; UC: Ulcerative Colitis; CD: Crohn’s Diseases; TNF-α: Tumor Necrosis Factor α; IL12/23: Interleukin 12/23; IL-6R: Interleukin 6R; iRNA: information Ribonucleic acid; SC: Stem Cells; CT: Cell Therapy; MSC: Mesenchymal Stem Cells; HSC: Hematopoietic Stem Cells; 2,4,6-TNBA: 2,4,6-Trinitrobenzene Sulfonic Acid; SDF-1: Stromal Derived Factor-1; VEGF: Vasculoendotheli...

Microorganisms were screened for ones that reduced 3,5,5-trimethyl-2-cyclohexene-1,4-dione (ketoisophorone; KIP), and several strains were found to produce (6R)-2,2,6-trimethylcyclohexane-1,4-dione (levodione). The enzyme catalyzing the reduction of the C=C bond of KIP to yield (6R)-levodione was isolated from Candida macedoniensis AKU4588. The results of primary structural analysis and its enz...

In this paper, we consider a special kind of overconstrained 6R closed linkages which we call angle-symmetric 6R linkages. These are linkages with the property that the rotation angles are equal for each of the three pairs of opposite joints. We give a classification of these linkages. It turns that there are three types. First, we have the linkages with line symmetry. The second type is new. T...

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients have an exaggerated increase in blood pressure (BP) during rhythmic handgrip exercise (RHG 20%) and static handgrip exercise (SHG 30%). Nitric oxide levels increase during exercise and help prevent excessive hypertension by both increasing vasodilation and reducing sympathetic nerve activity (SNA). Therefore, we hypothesized that tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4), ...

Indolizidin-2-one amino acids (I2aas, 6S- and 6R-1) possessing 6S- and 6R-ring-fusion stereochemistry were introduced into the antimicrobial peptide gramicidin S (GS) to explore the relationships between configuration, peptide conformation and biological activity. Solution-phase and solid-phase techniques were used to synthesize three analogs with I2aa residues in place of the d-Phe-Pro residue...