To analyze the roles of interleukin-12 (IL-12) and the IL-12-dependent Th1 response in resistance to Cryptococcus neoformans, we have established a chronic infection model in wild-type mice and in mice with targeted disruptions of the genes for the IL-12p35 and IL-12p40 subunits (IL-12p35(-/-) and IL-12p40(-/-) mice, respectively) as well as in mice with a targeted disruption of the IL-4 gene. ...

We have shown previously that withdrawal from morphine induces immunosuppression in mice. The present study reports the effects of morphine withdrawal on infection with Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. Mice were made dependent on morphine by the implantation of a slow-release morphine pellet for 96 h. Controls received a placebo pellet. Withdrawal was induced by pellet removal. Mice wer...

During technological revolutions, stock prices of innovative firms tend to exhibit high volatility and bubble-like patterns, which are often attributed to investor irrationality. We develop a general equilibrium model that rationalizes the observed price patterns. The high volatility results from high uncertainty about the average productivity of a new technology. Investors learn about this pro...

Virtually all of western classical music could be recorded and stored on a singls computer disk and rendered on a music system costing as much as a good piano. To demonstrate and explore this, I built a system for audio and musical research which permits a workstation to control 64 synthesizers and a computerized Bösendorfer Imperial concert grand piano. It is easy to assemble and play complex ...

Staphylococcus aureus is the principal causative agent of the inflammatory bone disease osteomyelitis. Unfortunately, the pathogenesis of this often chronic infection is poorly understood and is complicated by the recent observation that bone-forming osteoblasts can harbor S. aureus. Such an infection presents a significant challenge for the host immune response, because osteoblasts are not kno...

Train scheduling has been a significant issue in the railway industry. Over the last few years, numerous approaches and tools have been developed to compute railway scheduling. In this paper, we present a set of heuristics for a constraint-based train scheduling tool, which is a project in collaboration with the National Network of Spanish Railways RENFE , Spain. We formulate train scheduling a...

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) increases the production of interleukin-12 (IL-12) from mouse macrophages via a kappaB site within the IL-12 p40 promoter. In this study, we found that retinoids inhibit this LPS-stimulated production of IL-12 in a dose-dependent manner. The NFkappaB components p50 and p65 bound retinoid X receptor (RXR) in a ligand-independent manner in vitro, and the interaction inter...

This paper describes a branch-and-cut procedure for an extension of the bounded colouring problem, generally known as curriculum-based university course timetabling. In particular, we focus on Udine Course Timetabling [di Gaspero and Schaerf, J. Math. Model. Algorithms 5:1], which has been used in Track 3 of the 2007 International Timetabling Competition. First, we present an alternative intege...