The structural vibration-based damage identification can be formulated as an optimization problem. The objective functional is expressed by a least square difference between measured and computed forward model displacements. The latter functional is minimized by using a hybrid scheme combining Rotation-based sampling Multi-Particle Collision Algorithm with Hooke-Jeeves heuristic (RMPCA-HJ). Mul...

Recent studie pointed out that allergic diseases have increased during the Asian dust storm event (ADSE) in Japan. Daily observations and the atmospheric concentrations of yellow sand (YS) aerosol have been increasing. In this study, YS samples collected from three sites of Japan during ADSE in 2009-2010 were used. The particles were analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray ...

Kinesin motor proteins use ATP hydrolysis for transport along microtubules in the cell. We sought to identify small organic ligands to inhibit kinesin's activity. Candidate molecules were identified by computational docking of commercially available compounds using the computer program DOCK. Compounds were docked at either of two sites, and a selection was tested for inhibition of microtubule-s...

Here we tested the role of calcium influx factor (CIF) and calcium-independent phospholipase A2 (iPLA2) in activation of CRAC (Ca release-activated Ca) channels and storeoperated Ca entry (SOCE) in rat basophilic leukemia (RBL-2H3) cells. We demonstrate that: 1) endogenous CIF production may be triggered by Ca release (net loss), as well as by simple buffering of free Ca within the stores; 2) s...

BACKGROUND Hemorrhoids are the most common anorectal disorder in the Western World and are a major cause of active, relapsing or chronic rectal bleeding. Many treatment options have been proposed and tried for early-stage hemorrhoids. There is general agreement that rubber banding ligation (RBL) is safe and effective. AIMS To evaluate the effectiveness and complications associated with RBL pe...

We have recently found that diethylstilbestrol (DES), a synthetic estrogen agonist, inhibits thrombin-induced Ca(2+) influx in human platelets, but it remains unclear to what extend this effect might be related to the store-operated Ca(2+) influx pathway. To study the effect of DES on store-operated channels and capacitative Ca(2+) influx, we used rat basophilic leukemia (RBL) cells, vascular s...

Polyphosphate (polyP) is a pro-inflammatory agent and a potent modulator of the human blood-clotting system. The presence of polyP of 60 phosphate units was identified in rat basophilic leukemia (RBL-2H3) mast cells using specific enzymatic assays, urea-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of cell extracts, and staining of cells with 4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI), and the polyP-binding doma...

Mast cells possess specialized granules that, upon stimulation of surface FcR with IgE, fuse with the plasma membrane, thereby releasing inflammatory mediators. A family of membrane fusion proteins called SNAREs, which are present on both the granule and the plasma membrane, plays a role in the fusion of these granules with the plasma membrane of mast cells. In addition to the SNAREs themselves...

The SH2-containing protein tyrosine phosphatase1 (SHP-1) is important for signaling from immune receptors. To investigate the role of SHP-1 in mast cells we overexpressed the wild-type and the phosphatase-inactive forms of SHP-1 in rat basophilic leukemia 2H3 (RBL-2H3) mast cell line. The phosphatase-inactive SHP-1 (C453S or D419A) retains its ability to bind tyrosine phosphorylated substrates ...

In the mast cell signaling pathways, the binding of immunoglobulin E (IgE) to FcepsilonRI, its high-affinity receptor, is generally thought to be a passive step. In this study, we examined the effect of IgE alone, that is, without antigen stimulation, on the degranulation in mast cells. Monomeric IgE (500-5,000 ng/ml) alone increased cytosolic Ca2+ level ([Ca2+]i) and induced degranulation in r...