objectives: the aim of the present study was to investigate immunotoxic effect of safranal (saf), a main component of crocus sativus essential oil, using balb/c mice. materials and methods: saf was administered intraperitoneally at doses of 0.1, 0.5 and 1 ml/kg for 3 weeks. hystopathological examination of spleen and bone marrow, cellularity of spleen, delayed type of hypersensitivity (dth) res...

For hypotheses of the type H0 : θ = θ0 vs H1 : θ 6= θ0 we demonstrate the equivalence of a Bayesian hypothesis test using a Bayes factor and the corresponding classical test, for a large class of models, which are detailed in the paper. In particular, we show that the role of the prior and critical region for the Bayes factor test is only to specify the type I error. This is their only role sin...

The immune response of cod (Gadus morhua L.) is unusual in that specific antibody response is limited or absent. In the present study cod was immunised with haptenated and non-haptenated protein antigen at two different temperatures and the antibody response monitored over a period of 18 months. Other humoral parameters of immunological importance were also analysed, namely total immunoglobulin...

Gene therapy utilizing replication deficient adenoviral vectors represents a potentially promising approach to the treatment of brain tumors. Limited duration of systemic transgene expression and inefficient transduction following repeat systemic vector administration secondary to an effective anti-vector immune response limits the potential application of first generation adenoviral vectors. W...

Faecal and serum samples were collected over a period of 6 months from 55 institutionalized elderly subjects, who were enrolled in a double-blind placebo-controlled study. Participants were randomized in one of the three treatment groups: intervention (two probiotic Bifidobacterium longum strains: 2C and 46), placebo and commercial control (Bifidobacterium lactis Bb-12). The faecal Bifidobacter...

The immune system is one of the most important adaptations that has evolved to protect animals from a wide range of pathogens they encounter from early life onwards. During the early developmental period this is particularly true for the innate immunity, as other components of the immune system are, as yet, poorly developed. But innate immunity may not only be crucial for early life survival, b...

The biological effect of visible light of low energy density was investigated in this study. The effects of diffuse (DL) and linearly polarized (LPL) light were compared on models in vitro and in vivo. Experiments in vitro were performed on human lymphocytes to study their blast-transformation and rosette-formation abilities. Both DL and LPL increased the number of blast-transformed cells even ...

AIM Selected cytokines, associated with Th1 and Th2 immune response and inflammation, were studied in order to evaluate the relation between their release into maternal and neonatal circulation, during labour, and after birth, in comparison with those in adults. MATERIALS AND METHODS Cytokine concentrations were determined by very sensitive immunoassays, in maternal serum (MS), umbilical cord...

The profile of cytokine production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from patients with bronchial asthma on stimulation with house dust mite was demonstrated to be compatible with that of helper T type 2 (Th2) cells (1). The number of Th2 cells was also shown to be increased in bronchial tissue and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of patients with bronchial asthma. Also, the recruitment...