974 research outputs found
Accounting Problems Under the Excess Profits Tax
DNA vaccines based on subunits from pathogens have several advantages over other vaccine strategies. DNA vaccines can easily be modified, they show good safety profiles, are stable and inexpensive to produce, and the immune response can be focused to the antigen of interest. However, the immunogenicity of DNA vaccines which is generally quite low needs to be improved. Electroporation and co-delivery of genetically encoded immune adjuvants are two strategies aiming at increasing the efficacy of DNA vaccines. Here, we have examined whether targeting to antigen-presenting cells (APC) could increase the immune response to surface envelope glycoprotein (Env) gp120 from Human Immunodeficiency Virus type 1 (HIV- 1). To target APC, we utilized a homodimeric vaccine format denoted vaccibody, which enables covalent fusion of gp120 to molecules that can target APC. Two molecules were tested for their efficiency as targeting units: the antibody-derived single chain Fragment variable (scFv) specific for the major histocompatilibility complex (MHC) class II I-E molecules, and the CC chemokine ligand 3 (CCL3). The vaccines were delivered as DNA into muscle of mice with or without electroporation. Targeting of gp120 to MHC class II molecules induced antibodies that neutralized HIV-1 and that persisted for more than a year after one single immunization with electroporation. Targeting by CCL3 significantly increased the number of HIV-1 gp120-reactive CD8(+) T cells compared to non-targeted vaccines and gp120 delivered alone in the absence of electroporation. The data suggest that chemokines are promising molecular adjuvants because small amounts can attract immune cells and promote immune responses without advanced equipment such as electroporation.Funding Agencies|Research Council of Norway; Odd Fellow</p
Neuronal circuitry for pain processing in the dorsal horn
Neurons in the spinal dorsal horn process sensory information, which is then transmitted to several brain regions, including those responsible for pain perception. The dorsal horn provides numerous potential targets for the development of novel analgesics and is thought to undergo changes that contribute to the exaggerated pain felt after nerve injury and inflammation. Despite its obvious importance, we still know little about the neuronal circuits that process sensory information, mainly because of the heterogeneity of the various neuronal components that make up these circuits. Recent studies have begun to shed light on the neuronal organization and circuitry of this complex region
Marked alveolar apoptosis/proliferation imbalance in end-stage emphysema
BACKGROUND: Apoptosis has recently been proposed to contribute to the pathogenesis of emphysema. METHODS: In order to establish if cell fate plays a role even in end-stage disease we studied 16 lungs (9 smoking-associated and 7 α1antitrypsin (AAT)-deficiency emphysema) from patients who had undergone lung transplantations. Six unused donor lungs served as controls. Apoptosis was evaluated by TUNEL analysis, single-stranded DNA laddering, electron microscopy and cell proliferation by an immunohistochemical method (MIB1). The role of the transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 pathway was also investigated and correlated with epithelial cell turnover and with the severity of inflammatory cell infiltrate. RESULTS: The apoptotic index (AI) was significantly higher in emphysematous lungs compared to the control group (p ≤ 0.01), particularly if only lungs with AAT-deficiency emphysema were considered (p ≤ 0.01 vs p = 0.09). The proliferation index was similar in patients and controls (1.9 ± 2.2 vs 1.7 ± 1.1). An increased number of T lymphocytes was observed in AAT-deficiency lungs than smoking-related cases (p ≤ 0.05). TGF-β1 expression in the alveolar wall was higher in patients with smoking-associated emphysema than in cases with AAT-deficiency emphysema (p ≤ 0.05). A positive correlation between TGF-βRII and AI was observed only in the control group (p ≤ 0.005, r(2 )= 0.8). A negative correlation was found between the TGF-β pathway (particularly TGF-βRII) and T lymphocytes infiltrate in smoking-related cases (p ≤ 0.05, r(2 )= 0.99) CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that apoptosis of alveolar epithelial cells plays an important role even in end-stage emphysema particularly in AAT-deficiency disease. The TGFβ-1 pathway does not seem to directly influence epithelial turnover in end-stage disease. Inflammatory cytokine different from TGF-β1 may differently orchestrate cell fate in AAT and smoking-related emphysema types
Double Diffraction Dissociation at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider
We present results from a measurement of double diffraction dissociation in
collisions at the Fermilab Tevatron collider. The production cross
section for events with a central pseudorapidity gap of width
(overlapping ) is found to be [] at [630]
GeV. Our results are compared with previous measurements and with predictions
based on Regge theory and factorization.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, using RevTeX. Submitted to Physical Review
Letter
Search for Gluinos and Scalar Quarks in Collisions at TeV using the Missing Energy plus Multijets Signature
We have performed a search for gluinos (\gls) and squarks (\sq) in a data
sample of 84 pb of \ppb collisions at = 1.8 TeV, recorded by
the Collider Detector at Fermilab, by investigating the final state of large
missing transverse energy and 3 or more jets, a characteristic signature in
R-parity-conserving supersymmetric models. The analysis has been performed
`blind', in that the inspection of the signal region is made only after the
predictions from Standard Model backgrounds have been calculated. Comparing the
data with predictions of constrained supersymmetric models, we exclude gluino
masses below 195 \gev (95% C.L.), independent of the squark mass. For the case
\msq \approx \mgls, gluino masses below 300 \gev are excluded.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure
Search for a Technicolor omega_T Particle in Events with a Photon and a b-quark Jet at CDF
If the Technicolor omega_T particle exists, a likely decay mode is omega_T ->
gamma pi_T, followed by pi_T -> bb-bar, yielding the signature gamma bb-bar. We
have searched 85 pb^-1 of data collected by the CDF experiment at the Fermilab
Tevatron for events with a photon and two jets, where one of the jets must
contain a secondary vertex implying the presence of a b quark. We find no
excess of events above standard model expectations. We express the result of an
exclusion region in the M_omega_T - M_pi_T mass plane.Comment: 14 pages, 2 figures. Available from the CDF server (PS with figs):
http://www-cdf.fnal.gov/physics/pub98/cdf4674_omega_t_prl_4.ps
FERMILAB-PUB-98/321-
Diffractive Dijet Production at sqrt(s)=630 and 1800 GeV at the Fermilab Tevatron
We report a measurement of the diffractive structure function of
the antiproton obtained from a study of dijet events produced in association
with a leading antiproton in collisions at GeV at the
Fermilab Tevatron. The ratio of at GeV to
obtained from a similar measurement at GeV is compared with
expectations from QCD factorization and with theoretical predictions. We also
report a measurement of the (-Pomeron) and ( of parton in
Pomeron) dependence of at GeV. In the region
, GeV and , is
found to be of the form , which obeys
- factorization.Comment: LaTeX, 9 pages, Submitted to Phys. Rev. Letter
Measurement of the B0 anti-B0 oscillation frequency using l- D*+ pairs and lepton flavor tags
The oscillation frequency Delta-md of B0 anti-B0 mixing is measured using the
partially reconstructed semileptonic decay anti-B0 -> l- nubar D*+ X. The data
sample was collected with the CDF detector at the Fermilab Tevatron collider
during 1992 - 1995 by triggering on the existence of two lepton candidates in
an event, and corresponds to about 110 pb-1 of pbar p collisions at sqrt(s) =
1.8 TeV. We estimate the proper decay time of the anti-B0 meson from the
measured decay length and reconstructed momentum of the l- D*+ system. The
charge of the lepton in the final state identifies the flavor of the anti-B0
meson at its decay. The second lepton in the event is used to infer the flavor
of the anti-B0 meson at production. We measure the oscillation frequency to be
Delta-md = 0.516 +/- 0.099 +0.029 -0.035 ps-1, where the first uncertainty is
statistical and the second is systematic.Comment: 30 pages, 7 figures. Submitted to Physical Review
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