Infection of vascular endothelial cells (ECs) is assumed to contribute to dissemination of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV). Investigation of virus-host interactions in ECs such as human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) is limited due to the low maximal passage numbers of these primary cells. We tested a conditionally immortalized EC line (HEC-LTT) and a permanent cell line (EA.hy926) for ...

Activation of cultured human endothelial cells (HEC) by inflammatory stimuli, such as interleukin 1 (IL-1), tumor necrosis factor (TNF), and bacterial endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide, LPS), increases their surface adhesiveness for blood leukocytes and related cell lines. We now report that activated HEC also generate a soluble leukocyte adhesion inhibitor (LAI), which accumulates in conditioned m...

The in vitro adhesion and spreading of human endothelial cells (HEC) on hydrophobic poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PETP) and moderately wettable tissue culture poly(ethylene terephthalate) (TCPETP) were studied with light microscopy and electron microscopy. Numbers of HEC adhering on TCPETP were always higher than those found on PETP. When cells were seeded in the presence of serum, extensive ce...

A balance between production and degradation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is critical for maintaining cellular homeostasis. Increased levels of ROS during oxidative stress are associated with disease conditions. Antioxidant enzymes, such as extracellular superoxide dismutase (EC-SOD), in the extracellular matrix (ECM) neutralize the toxicity of superoxide. Recent studies have emphasized the...

The current research investigates the HEC based training for the University teachers in Pakistan and its impact on the performance on University teachers. The Higher Education Commission (HEC) in Pakistan seeks to improve the quality of teaching by University teachers. The Commission has initiated different forms of training according to the areas of expertise in order to improve skills and imp...

It is expected that our HEC system will enter exascale era in decade, which is one thousand times of performance as today’s system (petascale). In the mean time, many challenges also have been noticed and pointed out, as the size of HEC system increased without some dispensable improving on architecture of today’s HEC system, the systems could collapse at exascale, because the functionality wou...

More insight into the mechanism of adhesion of human endothelial cells (HEC) on to polymeric surfaces may lead to the development of improved small-diameter vascular grafts. H EC suspended in 20% human serum-containing culture medium adhere and spread well on moderately water-wettable polymers such as tissue culture polystyrene (TCPS). Earlier it was demonstrated that during adhesion and spread...

pH-Sensitive micelles are usually made from double-hydrophilic block copolymers which can dissolve molecularly in water in a certain pH range and aggregate spontaneously upon an appropriate change in the pH value. Significant advances in this field have been achieved in recent years.[1] Polymeric hollow spheres have great potential for the encapsulation of large quantities of guest molecules. D...

BACKGROUND During the past 2 decades, there has been a rapid proliferation of "health examination center (HEC)" across China. The effects of their services on public's health have not been systemically investigated. This study aimed to assess the impact of periodic health examination (PHE) at HEC on surgical treatment for uterine fibroids in Beijing residents. METHODS We identified 224 patien...