The complement system is part of the innate immune system and plays a role in regulating inflammation. Increased inflammation is engaged in the development of adult cardiometabolic diseases such as insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, atherosclerosis, and hypertension. Adipose tissue not only produces complement but is also a potential target for complement activity. Obese adults and adults with c...

Terms and Atoms Syntactically, we assume a set of variables V and an underlying alphabet = f ; ;g consisting of a single binary function symbol which \glues" elements together and a single constant symbol ; to represent the empty set. Abstract terms, or set expressions, are elements of the term algebra T ( ;V) modulo an equality theory consisting of the following axioms: (x y) z = x (y z) (asso...