A mutation in the Caenorhabditis elegans spe-38 gene results in a sperm-specific fertility defect. spe-38 sperm are indistinguishable from wild-type sperm with regards to their morphology, motility and migratory behavior. spe-38 sperm make close contact with oocytes but fail to fertilize them. spe-38 sperm can also stimulate ovulation and engage in sperm competition. The spe-38 gene is predicte...

A novel sol-gel hybrid methyltrimethoxysilane-tetraethoxysilane (MTMOS-TEOS) was produced and applied as sorbent for solid phase extraction (SPE). Five selected organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs) were employed as model compounds to evaluate the extraction performance of the synthesized sol-gel organic-inorganic hybrid MTMOS-TEOS. Analysis was performed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry...

Secretory vesicles are used during spermatogenesis to deliver proteins to the cell surface. In Caenorhabditis elegans, secretory membranous organelles (MO) fuse with the plasma membrane to transform spermatids into fertilization-competent spermatozoa. We show that, like the acrosomal vesicle of mammalian sperm, MOs undergo acidification during development. Treatment of spermatids with the V-ATP...

Loss-of-function mutations in the spe-11 gene in Caenorhabditis elegans result in a paternal-effect embryonic-lethal phenotype: fertilization of wild-type oocytes by sperm from homozygous spe-11 mutant males leads to abnormal zygotic development, whereas oocytes from homozygous spe-11 hermaphrodites when fertilized by wild-type sperm develop normally. Embryos fertilized by sperm from homozygous...

BACKGROUND Surgical pulmonary embolectomy (SPE) is indicated for a pulmonary embolism associated with hemodynamic instability. A review of the literature demonstrates that most studies of SPE are conducted at large academic medical centers. This series is from a 325-bed community hospital. METHODS A retrospective chart review was performed of patients undergoing SPE from January 2008 to Decem...

Statistical post-editing (SPE) of the output produced by rule-based MT (RBMT) systems has been reported to produce extraordinary BLEU (and other automatic evaluation) score improvements. SPE has also been applied to the output of statistical MT (SMT) systems, albeit with more mixed results. We present a statistical post-editing pipeline and evaluate the outputs using automatic and human evaluat...

Recombinant streptococcal pyrogenic exotoxin C (SPE-C) is a potent superantigen that stimulates VJ32-bearing human T cells, but is inactive in mice. SPE-C binds with high affinity to both human H L A D R and murine I-E molecules, but not to routine I-A molecules in a zincdependent fashion. Competition binding studies with other recombinant toxins revealed that SPE-C lacks the generic low affini...

Recombinant streptococcal pyrogenic exotoxin C (SPE-C) is a potent superantigen that stimulates Vbeta2-bearing human T cells, but is inactive in mice. SPE-C binds with high affinity to both human HLA-DR and murine I-E molecules, but not to murine I-A molecules in a zinc-dependent fashion. Competition binding studies with other recombinant toxins revealed that SPE-C lacks the generic low affinit...

Group A streptococcal pyrogenic exotoxins (SPE) types A, B, and C are potent nonspecific lymphocyte mitogens. The mitogenicity of these exotoxins was inhibited by gangliosides and sialic acid, whereas concanavalin A was unaffected. The capacity of both concanavalin A and SPE-A to stimulate lymphocytes was suppressed by alpha-methyl-D-mannopyranoside. Galactose reduced the activity of SPE-C. The...