Five phase-function (PF) normalization techniques are compared using the discrete-ordinate method (DOM) for modeling diffuse radiation heat transfer in participating media. Both the mathematical formulation and the impact on the conservation of both scattered energy and PF asymmetry factor for both Henyey-Greenstein (HG) and Legendre PF distributions are presented for each technique. DOM radiat...

Platelet factor 4 (PF-4), a member of the alpha-chemokine subfamily of cytokines, activates human neutrophils independently of intracellular free calcium mobilization or binding to IL-8R. In the present study, we have identified and partially characterized a receptor for PF-4 on human neutrophils, which displays weak cross-reactivity with the IFN-gamma-inducible protein 10, but not with other a...

Plasma membrane vesicles isolated by two-phase partitioning from the storage root of Beta vulgaris show atypically high water permeability that is equivalent only to those reported for active aquaporins in tonoplast or animal red cells (Pf=542 microm s(-1)). The values were determined from the shrinking kinetics measured by stopped-flow light scattering. This high Pf was only partially inhibite...

Proteins exported by Plasmodium falciparum to the red blood cell (RBC) membrane modify the structural properties of the parasitized RBC (Pf-RBC). Although quasi-static single cell assays show reduced ring-stage Pf-RBCs deformability, the parameters influencing their microcirculatory behavior remain unexplored. Here, we study the dynamic properties of ring-stage Pf-RBCs and the role of the paras...

a group g is said to be a (pf)c-group or to have polycyclic-by-finite conjugacy classes, if g/c_{g}(x^{g}) is a polycyclic-by-finite group for all xin g. this is a generalization of the familiar property of being an fc-group. de falco et al. (respectively, de giovanni and trombetti) studied groups whose proper subgroups of infinite rank have finite (respectively, polycyclic) conjugacy classes. ...

Platelets secrete a low-molecular-weight protein, platelet factor four (PF-4), which binds to and neutralizes heparin and related sulfated glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). To examine the interactions of PF-4 with the GAGs present on endothelial cell surfaces, we incubated 125I-PF-4 with cell suspensions derived from confluent monolayers of cultured bovine aortic endothelium. Binding of 125I-PF-4 was ...

Blood plasma obtained from an individual with abnormal thromboplastin formation, due to deficiency of Fletcher factor, was fully corrected by 2% of normal, Hageman factor- or PTA-deficient plasma. It was also reconstituted by addition of highly purified human or rabbit prekallikrein. The plasma failed to generate kinin upon exposure to kaolin, a defect which was also corrected by addition of pr...

Aberrant activation of the Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway is involved in the maintenance of leukemic stem cell (LSCs) populations. PF-0444913 (PF-913) is a novel inhibitor that selectively targets Smoothened (SMO), which regulates the Hh pathway. Treatment with PF-913 has shown promising results in an early phase study of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, a detailed mode of action for PF-...

Temperature and salinity profiles obtained with expendable CTD probes throughout Drake Passage between February 2002 and July 2005 are analyzed to estimate turbulent diapycnal eddy diffusivities to a depth of 1000 m. Diffusivity values are inferred from density/temperature inversions and internal wave vertical strain. Both methods reveal the same pattern of spatial variability across Drake Pass...

An Artificial Neural Network (ANN) was used to analyse the capillary rise in porous media. Wetting experiments were performed with fifteen liquids and fifteen different powders. The liquids covered a wide range  of  surface  tension ( 15.45-71.99  mJ/m2 )  and  viscosity (0.25-21 mPa.s). The powders also provided an acceptable range of particle size (0.012-45 μm) and surface free...