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b1 integrins are thought to play a central role in maintaining lymphocytes within mucosal epithelia via their interactions with extracellular matrix proteins and subepithelial cellular components within and underlying the basement membrane. In the current study type a (CD8abTCRab) and type b (CD8aaTCRcd and CD8aaTCRab) intraepithelial lymphocyte (IEL) subsets within the mouse small intestine were
Meningitis caused by Escherichia coli K1 is a serious illness in neonates with neurological sequelae in up to 50% of survivors. A high degree of bacteremia is required for E. coli K1 to cross the blood-brain barrier, which suggests that the bacterium must evade the host defence mechanisms and survive in the bloodstream. We previously showed that outer membrane protein A (OmpA) of E. coli binds C4b
Infections frequently consist of more than one strain of a given pathogen. Experiments have shown that co-infecting strains often compete, so that the infection intensity of each strain in mixed infections is lower than in single strain infections. Such within-host competition can have important epidemiological and evolutionary consequences. However, the extent of competition has rarely been inves
Background: S100A9 has been shown to be important for the function of so called Myeloid Derived Suppressor Cells (MDSC). Cells with a similar phenotype are also involved in pro-inflammatory processes, and we therefore wanted to investigate the gene expression and function of these cells in animals that were either subjected to chronic inflammation, or inoculated with tumors. Methods: CD11b(+)Ly6C(
The metabolic syndrome (MS) includes a clustering of metabolic derangements. Low testosterone levels have been shown to be associated with both components of MS and MS per se. As most androgen-related effects are mediated thorough the androgen receptor (AR), we wanted to investigate to which degree the AR CAG and GGN repeat polymorphisms might be related to MS. Sixty-eight men, 60-80 years old, wi
NKT cells m the mouse recognize antigen in the context of the MHC class I-like molecule CD1d and play an important role in peripheral tolerance and protection against autoimmune and other diseases NKT cells are usually activated by CD1d-presented lipid antigens However, peptide recognition m the context of CD 1 has also been documented, although no self-peptide ligands have been reported to date H
Poly(amido amine) (PAMAM) dendrimers have previously been shown, as cationic condensing agents of DNA, to have high potential for nonviral gene delivery. This study addresses two key issues for gene delivery: the interaction of the biomembrane with (i) the condensing agent (the cationic PAMAM dendrimer) and (ii) the corresponding dendrimer/DNA aggregate. Using in situ null ellipsometry and neutron
The G-protein coupled receptor associated protein β-arrestin-1 is crucial for the regulation of numerous biological processes involved in cancer progression, such as intracellular signaling and cell motility. The encoding gene ARRB1 is harbored in the same chromosomal region as the CCND1 gene (11q13). Amplification of CCND1, frequently encountered in breast cancer, often involves coamplification o
The opportunistic human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa causes a wide range of diseases. To cross host innate immune barriers, P. aeruginosa has developed efficient strategies to escape host complement attack. In this study, we identify the 57-kDa dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (Lpd) as a surface-exposed protein of P. aeruginosa that binds the four human plasma proteins, Factor H, Factor H-like pr
Organometallic complexes containing terminal metal nitrides and phosphides are important synthetic reagents. Laser-ablated group 6 metal atoms react with NF3, PF3, and PCl3 to form the simple lowest energy N MF3, and P MX3 products following insertion and halogen transfer, with the exception of P CrF3, which is a higher energy species and is not observed. The E MX3 pnictide metal trihalide molecul
Molecular weight (MW) is one of the most important characteristics of macromolecules. Sometimes, MW cannot be measured correctly by conventional methods like gel permeation chromatography (GPC) due to, for example, aggregation. We propose using single-molecule spectroscopy to measure the average MW simply by counting individual fluorescent molecules embedded in a thin matrix film at known mass con
A circular polarization selective structure (CPSS) reflects one handedness of circular polarization and transmits the other. We present a new multilayer structure with significantly improved bandwidth compared to classical solutions, which are typically based on resonant structures. The proposed structure consists of layers of printed metal meander lines interspaced by low-permittivity rigid foams
We present the Associative Self-Organizing Map (A-SOM) and propose that it could be used to predict an agent's intentions by internally simulating the behaviour likely to follow initial movements. The A-SOM is a neural network that develops a representation of its input space without supervision, while simultaneously learning to associate its activity with an arbitrary number of additional (possib
An absolute measure of the fat content in various organs is an important part of diagnostics in obesity and diabetes. Fat quantification using MR-imaging is a non-invasive technique which provides both quantitative and spatial information on fat accumulation. However, for absolute quantification, it is necessary to address the various sources of contrast in MR-imaging. This paper summarizes basic
