BACKGROUND Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) are widely distributed in the environment and may have adverse effects on the immune system. METHODS Lipid adjusted serum levels of 19 Dioxin Like (DL), 17 Non Dioxin Like (NDL) PCBs, 5 OCPs, and measures of complete blood count and routine biochemistry profile were obtained from the NHANES 2003-2004 cycle. For e...

The cytokines RANKL and TNF activate NF-κB signaling in osteoclast precursors (OCPs) to induce osteoclast (OC) formation. Conversely, TNF can limit OC formation through NF-κB p100, which acts as an inhibitor, and TNF receptor-associated receptor 3 (TRAF3); however, a role for TRAF3 in RANKL-mediated OC formation is unknown. We found that TRAF3 limits RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis by suppress...

Angiogenesis is involved in the pathogenesis of inflammatory arthritis, but little is known about the role of lymphangiogenesis in this setting. Here, we examined whether tumor necrosis factor (TNF) stimulates osteoclast precursors (OCPs) to produce the lymphatic growth factor, vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C), and induce lymphangiogenesis. We used TNF-transgenic (Tg) mice and mice...

Neste trabalho, o papel de filtro quimicamente modificado com polianilina/polipirrol (PANI/PPY), denominado de nanocompósito PANI/PPY/celulose, foi preparado e usado como sorvente para extração em fase sólida (SPE) para a pré-concentração e extração de alguns pesticidas organoclorados (OCPs) em amostras de águas naturais. O sorvente proposto também foi caracterizado por microscopia eletrônica d...

INTRODUCTION The objective of the present study was to investigate the role of the stromal cell-derived factor 1 (SDF-1)/CXCR4 axis in TNF-induced mobilization of osteoclast precursors (OCPs) from bone marrow. METHODS OCPs were generated from bone marrow cells of TNF-transgenic mice or wild-type mice treated with TNF or PBS. The percentage of CD11b+/Gr-1-/lo OCPs was assessed by fluorescence-...

BACKGROUND Preconception care, including family planning, is a vital component of healthcare for women of reproductive age. An average female spends the majority of her reproductive life trying to prevent a pregnancy. In order to prevent unintended pregnancy, women often rely on the use of hormonal contraceptives. In the United States, the majority of hormonal contraceptive users are prescribed...

In this paper we introduce a numerical approach that solves optimal control problems (OCPs) using collocation methods. This approach is based upon B-spline functions. The derivative matrices between any two families of B-spline functions are utilized to reduce the solution of OCPs to the solution of nonlinear optimization problems. Numerical experiments confirm our theoretical findings.

BACKGROUND Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) are one kind of persistent organic pollutants. Although they are reported to be associated with metabolic disorders, the underlying mechanism is unclear. We explored the association of OCPs with gallstone disease and its influence on hepatic lipid metabolism. MATERIALS AND METHODS OCPs levels in omentum adipose tissues from patients with and without...

Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) such as DDT and DDE have been detected in the surface 0.2m of Vertisols in the lower Namoi Valley of north western New South Wales, Australia even though they have not been applied to crops since 1982. However, their presence in the deeper soil horizons has not been investigated. The objective of this study was to determine if OCPs were present to a depth of 1.2...