B\"uchi VASS recognise w-languages that are Sigma^1_1 - complete

This short note exhibits an example of a Sigma^1_1-complete language that can be recognised by a one blind counter B\"uchi automaton (or equivalently a B\"uchi VASS with only one place)

Effects of maternal immunization against myostatin on skeletal muscle mass of offspring in mice

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2007.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 45-55).i, 92 leaves, bound ill. 29 cmMyostatin (growth & differentiation factor-8), a member of the transforming growth factor-β superfamily, is a potent negative regulator of skeletal muscle growth. Previous studies have demonstrated hypermuscularity being induced by the absence or suppression of functional myostatin and conversely, muscle atrophy upon myostatin overexpression or administration. These studies indicate that myostatin-blockade has potential applications in improving muscle mass in farm animals and in treating muscle atrophies in humans. Since immunoneutralization has been effective in inhibiting biological molecules, it was hypothesized that maternal immunization against myostatin in female mice might enhance muscle mass in offspring via myostatin-blockade in the developing embryos and neonates by maternally transferred anti-myostatin antibody. In this study, twenty reproducing, twelve week-old female mice were divided into four groups, and immunized against KLH (Control) or recombinant porcine mature myostatin (rMyo) or two different KLH-conjugated myostatin peptides (Myo-I and Myo-2). Animals were immunized subcutaneously with 0.2 mg of immunogen mixed in TiterMax® adjuvant. Two or three boosters were administered prior to mating to ensure that the immunized female mice had significant antibody titers against their respective immunogens in ELISA. Sera collected from 3-day old neonates demonstrated significant titers, confirming the maternal transfer of anti-myostatin antibodies to offspring. However, no significant effects of immunization on the body weights of offspring were observed during 8 weeks of growout period. The offspring of the Myo-2 group had significantly heavier gastrocnemius and triceps muscles at 8 weeks compared to the controls (P<0.01), but the muscle mass of the offspring from the rMyo and Myo-l groups did not significantly differ from that of the control offspring. Since it is possible that the antibodies generated against three different antigens may have different binding characteristics and ability to inhibit myostatin activity, we examined the binding affinities of the antibodies to myostatin using Western blot analysis and the ability of the antibodies to suppress myostatin activity using pGL3 (CAGA) 12-Luc-luciferase reporter system. The antibodies from the three treatment groups showed affinity to mature myostatin monomer, but none of the antibodies showed affinity to myostatin dimer. In the pGL3 (CAGA) 12-Luc-luciferase reporter assay system, none of the antibodies from the three immunized groups showed the ability to suppress the biological activity of myostatin. In conclusion, we observed that the active immunization against myostatin using Myo-2 peptide improved the muscle growth of offspring. However, the inability of the anti-Myo-2 antibody to bind mature myostatin dimer and to suppress the myostatin's activity led us to question whether the improved muscle mass in the Myo-2 offspring was due to the inhibition of myostatin's biological activity by the anti-Myo-2 antibodies. Therefore, further studies are needed to determine whether active immunization against myostatin has the potential to improve skeletal muscle growth of offspring

Evaluation of Meat Tenderness of Forage-Finished Cattle Produced in Hawai'i, and Factors Affecting the Tenderness

The forage-beef industry in Hawai‘i probably needs to focus on improving tenderness through the establishment of standards to address maximum harvest age and minimum carcass weight targets, as well as to incorporate available tenderness technologies to improve the level of consumer satisfaction as related to tenderness

MOESM1 of Statistical prediction of immunity to placental malaria based on multi-assay antibody data for malarial antigens

Additional file 1. A heatmap that illustrates the observed antibody levels, along with clustering among antibodies (dendrogram in right) and 1377 patients (dendrogram on top). Below the top dendrogram, the panel with red and blue vertical bars represents malaria infected (in red) and none infected (in blue) subjects. Note that log-transformed antibody levels was used for the ease of visualization

Influence of intermittent preventive treatment on antibodies to VAR2CSA in pregnant Cameroonian women

Intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) and insecticide-treated bed nets are the standard of care for preventing malaria in pregnant women. Since these preventive measures reduce exposure to malaria, their influence on the antibody (Ab) response to the parasite antigen VAR2CSA was evaluated in pregnant Cameroonian women exposed to holoendemic malaria. Ab levels to full-length VAR2CSA (FV2), variants of the six Duffy binding like (DBL) domains, and proportion of high avidity Ab to FV2 were measured longitudinally in 92 women before and 147 women after IPT. As predicted, reduced exposure interfered with acquisition of Ab in primigravidae, with 71% primigravidae being seronegative to FV2 at delivery. Use of IPT for > 13 weeks by multigravidae resulted in 26% of women being seronegative at delivery and a significant reduction in Ab levels to FV2, DBL5, DBL6, proportion of high avidity Ab to FV2, and number of variants recognized. Thus, in women using IPT important immune responses were not acquired by primigravidae and reduced in a portion of multigravidae, especially women with one to two previous pregnancies. Longitudinal data from individual multigravidae on IPT suggest that lower Ab levels most likely resulted from lack of boosting of the VAR2CSA response and not from a short-lived Ab response

The Antibody Response of Pregnant Cameroonian Women to VAR2CSA ID1-ID2a, a Small Recombinant Protein Containing the CSA-Binding Site

<div><p>In pregnant women, <i>Plasmodium falciparum</i>-infected erythrocytes expressing the VAR2CSA antigen bind to chondroitin sulfate A in the placenta causing placental malaria. The binding site of VAR2CSA is present in the ID1-ID2a region. This study sought to determine if pregnant Cameroonian women naturally acquire antibodies to ID1-ID2a and if antibodies to ID1-ID2a correlate with absence of placental malaria at delivery. Antibody levels to full-length VAR2CSA and ID1-ID2a were measured in plasma samples from 745 pregnant Cameroonian women, 144 Cameroonian men, and 66 US subjects. IgM levels and IgG avidity to ID1-ID2a were also determined. As expected, antibodies to ID1-ID2a were absent in US controls. Although pregnant Cameroonian women developed increasing levels of antibodies to full-length VAR2CSA during pregnancy, no increase in either IgM or IgG to ID1-ID2a was observed. Surprisingly, no differences in antibody levels to ID1-ID2a were detected between Cameroonian men and pregnant women. For example, in rural settings only 8–9% of males had antibodies to full-length VAR2CSA, but 90–96% had antibodies to ID1-ID2a. In addition, no significant difference in the avidity of IgG to ID1-ID2a was found between pregnant women and Cameroonian men, and no correlation between antibody levels at delivery and absence of placental malaria was found. Thus, the response to ID1-ID2a was not pregnancy specific, but predominantly against cross-reactivity epitopes, which may have been induced by other PfEMP1 antigens, malarial antigens, or microbes. Currently, ID1-ID2a is a leading vaccine candidate, since it binds to the CSA with the same affinity as the full-length molecule and elicits binding-inhibitory antibodies in animals. Further studies are needed to determine if the presence of naturally acquired cross-reactive antibodies in women living in malaria endemic countries will alter the response to ID1-ID2a following vaccination with ID1-ID2a.</p></div

Prevalence of IgG to FV2 and ID1-ID2a in non-pregnant individuals and pregnant women at delivery.

a<p>Cut-off for FV2 seropositivity was determined based on the mean + 2 SD for resident males after excluding the occasional male (n = 2 Yaoundé, n = 1 Ngali, n = 1 Simbok) with MFI greater than the mean +3 SD.</p>b<p>US controls (n = 66) were used to establish a cut-off for seropositivity to ID1-ID2a.</p>c<p>3% of women who were not seropositive for FV2 were seropositive for DBL5 FCR3, indicating they had been exposed to CSA-binding <i>P. falciparum</i> IE.</p>d<p>Mean ± SD.</p

IgG levels to N-terminal domains of FV2 and DBL5 in the city of Yaoundé.

<p>Ab levels to DBL1 (3D7 and 7G8), DBL1+2 (7G8), DBL2 FCR3 and DBL5 FCR3 in the plasma of 116 PM+ and 348 PM− multigravidae women living in the city of Yaoundé were measured at delivery (cross-sectional cohort). Both PM+ and PM− women had significantly higher levels of Ab to DBL5 compared to Ab to DBL1, DBL 1+2 and DBL 2 (all p values <0.0001). PM+ and PM− multigravidae had significantly higher levels of Ab to DBL1 3D7, DBL1 7G8, DBL1+2 and DBL5 compared to males (all p values <0.0001). Only a marginally significant differences was found in Ab levels to DBL2 between males and females (p = 0.051). No statistical differences were found in Ab levels to any of the domains between PM+ and PM− women (all p values>0.05). Open circles represent PM− and black circles represent PM+. Median and IQR are also plotted.</p