5,457 research outputs found
Pathogenic, Molecular, and Immunological Properties of a Virus Associated with Sea Turtle Fibropapillomatosis. Phase II : Viral Pathogenesis and Development of Diagnostic Assays
Research conducted under this RWO from July 1, 1997 through June 30, 2000 has
provided important new information about the pathogenesis, virology, and
immunology of marine turtle fibropapillomatosis. In particular, we have provided
strong evidence for the association of a herpesvirus with fibropapillomatosis of the
green turtle,Chelonia mydas, and the loggerhead turtle, Caretta caretta, in Florida. In
addition we have provided new evidence for the absence of papillomaviruses from
sea turtle fibropapillomas. Although unsuccessful, important new attempts were made
to cultivate the FP-associated herpesvirus in vitro in collaboration with the National
Wildlife Health Center. During this period of time, we completed publication of the first
comprehensive description of the comparative pathology and pathogenesis of
experimentally induced and spontaneous fibropapillomas of green turtles (Chelonia
mydas). We initiated innovative studies on the persistence of a Chelonian
herpesviruses in the marine environment demonstrating for the first time that the
environmental survivability of Chelonian herpesviruses makes them real threats to
marine turtle health. Finally, we explored development of a serological assay for FP
using synthetic herpesvirus peptides and developed methodologies for detection of
antibodies to LETV [Iung-eye-trachea virus] a disease-associated herpesvirus of the
green turtle, Chelonia mydas.. This last initiative is ongoing and will further our efforts
to develop specific immunological assays for the FP-associated herpesvirus and FP. (17 page document
Bibliography of secondary sources on the history of dermatology III. Books, monographs, and chapters in English supplemented through 2005.
Providing supplements to the history of dermatology bibliographic record has been a continuous project for the past four decades. When the endeavor was initiated, the original authors decided that only contributions in English and those directly related to dermatology, excluding sexually transmitted diseases as such, would be indexed.
There is the perennial question of whether such a manually created bibiliographic project has a need. The obvious answer remains yes. While Index Medicus has expanded the number of journals that are indexed, the number of dermatology publications currently included by Index Medicus is just over fifty. Granted, most of the papers of dermatologic interest are included in these journals, some contributions are to be found in non-indexed publications. In addition, many documents of an historical interest or of a biographical nature are not necessarily selected for indexing in Index Medicus.
These installments are the first since 1980 for which the late John Thorne Crissey (1924-2009) has not contributed. His knowledge of the history of dermatology and his intellectual support are greatly missed
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A Study of Variable Stiffness Alginate Printing for Medical Applications
Technologies for multi-material 3D-printing of anatomical shapes are useful
both for fabrication of heterogeneous cell-seeded implants as well as for
fabrication of synthetic models for surgical planning and training. For both these
applications, it would be desirable to print directly with biological materials to
best emulate the target’s properties. Using a novel material platform, we
describe a series of experiments attempting to print variable-stiffness hydrogels.
We vary compliances by alternating 2% alginate hydrogel and a Dextran-infused
calcium chloride post-crosslinker. Stiffness throughout the construct ranged
from 4 kPa to 20 kPa as a function of post-crosslinker concentration, which was
spatially specified by the user.Mechanical Engineerin
CD40 ligand induced cytotoxicity in carcinoma cells is enhanced by inhibition of metalloproteinase cleavage and delivery via a conditionally-replicating adenovirus
Background
CD40 and its ligand (CD40L) play a critical role in co-ordinating immune responses. CD40 is also expressed in lymphoid malignancies and a number of carcinomas. In carcinoma cells the physiological outcome of CD40 ligation depends on the level of receptor engagement with low levels promoting cell survival and high levels inducing cell death. The most profound induction of cell death in carcinoma cells is induced by membrane-bound rather than recombinant soluble CD40L, but like other TNF family ligands, it is cleaved from the membrane by matrix metalloproteinases.
Results
We have generated a replication-deficient adenovirus expressing a mutant CD40L that is resistant to metalloproteinase cleavage such that ligand expression is retained at the cell membrane. Here we show that the mutated, cleavage-resistant form of CD40L is a more potent inducer of apoptosis than wild-type ligand in CD40-positive carcinoma cell lines. Since transgene expression via replication-deficient adenovirus vectors in vivo is low, we have also engineered a conditionally replicating E1A-CR2 deleted adenovirus to express mutant CD40L, resulting in significant amplification of ligand expression and consequent enhancement of its therapeutic effect.
Conclusions
Combined with numerous studies demonstrating its immunotherapeutic potential, these data provide a strong rationale for the exploitation of the CD40-CD40L pathway for the treatment of solid tumours
Synchrotron x-ray scattering of magnetic and electronic structure of UN and U2N3 epitaxial films
We examine the magnetic ordering of UN and of a closely related nitride,
U2N3, by preparing thin epitaxial films and using synchrotron x-ray techniques.
The magnetic configuration and subsequent coupling to the lattice are key
features of the electronic structure. The well-known antiferromagnetic (AF)
ordering of UN is confirmed, but the expected accompanying distortion at Tn is
not observed. Instead, we propose that the strong magneto-elastic interaction
at low temperature involves changes in the strain of the material. These
strains vary as a function of the sample form. As a consequence, the accepted
AF configuration of UN may be incorrect. In the case of cubic a-U2N3, no single
crystals have been previously prepared, and we have determined the AF ordering
wave-vector. The AF Tn is close to that previously reported. In addition,
resonant diffraction methods have identified an aspherical quadrupolar charge
contribution in U2N3 involving the 5f electrons; the first time this has been
observed in an actinide compound
Diffusion-Limited One-Species Reactions in the Bethe Lattice
We study the kinetics of diffusion-limited coalescence, A+A-->A, and
annihilation, A+A-->0, in the Bethe lattice of coordination number z.
Correlations build up over time so that the probability to find a particle next
to another varies from \rho^2 (\rho is the particle density), initially, when
the particles are uncorrelated, to [(z-2)/z]\rho^2, in the long-time asymptotic
limit. As a result, the particle density decays inversely proportional to time,
\rho ~ 1/kt, but at a rate k that slowly decreases to an asymptotic constant
value.Comment: To be published in JPCM, special issue on Kinetics of Chemical
Reaction
Discovery of a 500 pc shell in the nucleus of Centaurus A
Spitzer Space Telescope mid-infrared images of the radio galaxy Centaurus A
reveal a shell-like, bipolar, structure 500 pc to the north and south of the
nucleus. This shell is seen in 5.8, 8.0 and 24 micron broad-band images. Such a
remarkable shell has not been previously detected in a radio galaxy and is the
first extragalactic nuclear shell detected at mid-infrared wavelengths. We
estimate that the shell is a few million years old and has a mass of order
million solar masses. A conservative estimate for the mechanical energy in the
wind driven bubble is 10^53 erg. The shell could have created by a small few
thousand solar mass nuclear burst of star formation. Alternatively, the
bolometric luminosity of the active nucleus is sufficiently large that it could
power the shell. Constraints on the shell's velocity are lacking. However, if
the shell is moving at 1000 km/s then the required mechanical energy would be
100 times larger.Comment: submitted to ApJ Letter
Periastron Advance in Spinning Black Hole Binaries: Gravitational Self-Force from Numerical Relativity
We study the general relativistic periastron advance in spinning black hole
binaries on quasi-circular orbits, with spins aligned or anti-aligned with the
orbital angular momentum, using numerical-relativity simulations, the
post-Newtonian approximation, and black hole perturbation theory. By imposing a
symmetry by exchange of the bodies' labels, we devise an improved version of
the perturbative result, and use it as the leading term of a new type of
expansion in powers of the symmetric mass ratio. This allows us to measure, for
the first time, the gravitational self-force effect on the periastron advance
of a non-spinning particle orbiting a Kerr black hole of mass M and spin S =
-0.5 M^2, down to separations of order 9M. Comparing the predictions of our
improved perturbative expansion with the exact results from numerical
simulations of equal-mass and equal-spin binaries, we find a remarkable
agreement over a wide range of spins and orbital separations.Comment: 18 pages, 12 figures; matches version to appear in Phys. Rev.
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