611 research outputs found
Modeling Effective Dosages in Hormetic Dose-Response Studies
BACKGROUND: Two hormetic modifications of a monotonically decreasing log-logistic dose-response function are most often used to model stimulatory effects of low dosages of a toxicant in plant biology. As just one of these empirical models is yet properly parameterized to allow inference about quantities of interest, this study contributes the parameterized functions for the second hormetic model and compares the estimates of effective dosages between both models based on 23 hormetic data sets. Based on this, the impact on effective dosage estimations was evaluated, especially in case of a substantially inferior fit by one of the two models. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The data sets evaluated described the hormetic responses of four different test plant species exposed to 15 different chemical stressors in two different experimental dose-response test designs. Out of the 23 data sets, one could not be described by any of the two models, 14 could be better described by one of the two models, and eight could be equally described by both models. In cases of misspecification by any of the two models, the differences between effective dosages estimates (0-1768%) greatly exceeded the differences observed when both models provided a satisfactory fit (0-26%). This suggests that the conclusions drawn depending on the model used may diverge considerably when using an improper hormetic model especially regarding effective dosages quantifying hormesis. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The study showed that hormetic dose responses can take on many shapes and that this diversity can not be captured by a single model without risking considerable misinterpretation. However, the two empirical models considered in this paper together provide a powerful means to model, prove, and now also to quantify a wide range of hormetic responses by reparameterization. Despite this, they should not be applied uncritically, but after statistical and graphical assessment of their adequacy
A Conserved Mechanism for Hormesis in Molecular Systems
Hormesis refers to dose-response phenomena where low dose treatments elicit a response that is opposite the response observed at higher doses. Hormetic dose-response relationships have been observed throughout all of biology, but the underlying determinants of many reported hormetic dose-responses have not been identified. In this report, we describe a conserved mechanism for hormesis on the molecular level where low dose treatments enhance a response that becomes reduced at higher doses. The hormetic mechanism relies on the ability of protein homo-multimers to simultaneously interact with a substrate and a competitor on different subunits at low doses of competitor. In this case, hormesis can be observed if simultaneous binding of substrate and competitor enhances a response of the homo-multimer. We characterized this mechanism of hormesis in binding experiments that analyzed the interaction of homotrimeric proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) with uracil DNA glycosylase (UNG2) and a fluorescein-labeled peptide. Additionally, the basic features of this molecular mechanism appear to be conserved with at least two enzymes that are stimulated by low doses of inhibitor: dimeric BRAF and octameric glutamine synthetase 2 (GS2). Identifying such molecular mechanisms of hormesis may help explain specific hormetic responses of cells and organisms treated with exogenous compounds
Multiple Dendritic Cell Populations Activate CD4+ T Cells after Viral Stimulation
Dendritic cells (DC) are a heterogeneous cell population that bridge the innate and adaptive immune systems. CD8α DC play a prominent, and sometimes exclusive, role in driving amplification of CD8+ T cells during a viral infection. Whether this reliance on a single subset of DC also applies for CD4+ T cell activation is unknown. We used a direct ex vivo antigen presentation assay to probe the capacity of flow cytometrically purified DC populations to drive amplification of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells following infection with influenza virus by different routes. This study examined the contributions of non-CD8α DC populations in the amplification of CD8+ and CD4+ T cells in cutaneous and systemic influenza viral infections. We confirmed that in vivo, effective immune responses for CD8+ T cells are dominated by presentation of antigen by CD8α DC but can involve non-CD8α DC. In contrast, CD4+ T cell responses relied more heavily on the contributions of dermal DC migrating from peripheral lymphoid tissues following cutaneous infection, and CD4 DC in the spleen after systemic infection. CD4+ T cell priming by DC subsets that is dependent upon the route of administration raises the possibility that vaccination approaches could be tailored to prime helper T cell immunity
The stable phases of the Cs2CuCl4-xBrx mixed systems
Starting from Cs2CuCl4 and Cs2CuBr4 our project focuses on the growth of the
Cs2CuCl4-xBrx mixed crystals from aqueous solution and the investigation of the
occurring structural variations. The well known orthorhombic structure (space
group Pnma) of the end members of this system is interrupted within the
intermediate composition range Cs2CuCl3Br1 - Cs2CuCl2Br2, if the growth takes
place at room temperature. Within this range a new tetragonal phase is found
(space group I4/mmm). However, in case the growth temperature will be increased
to 50 {\deg}C, the existence of the orthorhombic structure can be extended over
the whole Cs2CuCl4-xBrx mixed system. A detailed analysis of the composition
dependence of the lattice parameters is used to draw conclusions on the
incorporation of Cl- and Br-ions at different sites which is important for the
magnetic interactions between the Cu-ions.Comment: 16 pages,8 figure
Air fluorescence measurements in the spectral range 300-420 nm using a 28.5 GeV electron beam
Measurements are reported of the yield and spectrum of fluorescence, excited
by a 28.5 GeV electron beam, in air at a range of pressures of interest to
ultra-high energy cosmic ray detectors. The wavelength range was 300 - 420 nm.
System calibration has been performed using Rayleigh scattering of a nitrogen
laser beam. In atmospheric pressure dry air at 304 K the yield is 20.8 +/- 1.6
photons per MeV.Comment: 29 pages, 10 figures. Submitted to Astroparticle Physic
Neutron Star Constraints on the H Dibaryon
We study the influence of a possible H dibaryon condensate on the equation of
state and the overall properties of neutron stars whose population otherwise
contains nucleons and hyperons. In particular, we are interested in the
question of whether neutron stars and their masses can be used to say anything
about the existence and properties of the H dibaryon. We find that the equation
of state is softened by the appearance of a dibaryon condensate and can result
in a mass plateau for neutron stars. If the limiting neutron star mass is about
that of the Hulse-Taylor pulsar a condensate of H dibaryons of vacuum mass 2.2
GeV and a moderately attractive potential in the medium could not be ruled out.
On the other hand, if the medium potential were even moderately repulsive, the
H, would not likely exist in neutron stars. If neutron stars of about 1.6 solar
mass were known to exist, attractive medium effects for the H could be ruled
out. Certain ranges of dibaryon mass and potential can be excluded by the mass
of the Hulse-Taylor pulsar which we illustrate graphically.Comment: Revised by the addition of a figure showing the region of dibaryon
mass and potential excluded by the Hulse-Taylor pulsar. 18 pages, 11 figures,
latex (submitted to Phys. Rev. C
Search for the Weak Decay of an H Dibaryon
We have searched for a neutral dibaryon decaying via and
. Our search has yielded two candidate events from which we set
an upper limit on the production cross section. Normalizing to the
inclusive production cross section, we find at 90% C.L., for an of mass
2.15 GeV/.Comment: 11 pages, 6 postscript figures, epsfig, aps, preprint, revte
Cosmic Rays: The Second Knee and Beyond
We conduct a review of experimental results on Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays
(UHECR's) including measurements of the features of the spectrum, the
composition of the primary particle flux and the search for anisotropy in event
arrival direction. We find that while there is a general consensus on the
features in the spectrum -- the Second Knee, the Ankle, and (to a lesser
extent) the GZK Cutoff -- there is little consensus on the composition of the
primaries that accompany these features. This lack of consensus on the
composition makes interpretation of the agreed upon features problematic. There
is also little direct evidence about potential sources of UHECRs, as early
reports of arrival direction anisotropies have not been confirmed in
independent measurements.Comment: 46 pages, 30 figures. Topical Review to appear in J. Physics
QCD Rescattering and High Energy Two-Body Photodisintegration of the Deuteron
Photon absorption by a quark in one nucleon followed by its high momentum
transfer interaction with a quark in the other may produce two final-state
nucleons with high relative momentum. We sum the relevant quark rescattering
diagrams, to show that the scattering amplitude depends on a convolution
between the large angle scattering amplitude, the hard photon-quark
interaction vertex and the low-momentum deuteron wave function. The computed
absolute values of the cross section are in reasonable agreement with the data.Comment: 4 pages, revised version to be published in Phys. Rev. Let
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