Engineering immunomodulatory nanoplatforms from commensal bacteria-derived polysaccharide A.

Capsular zwitterionic polysaccharides (CZPs), typically found on the surfaces of commensal gut bacteria, are important immunomodulatory molecules due to their ability to produce a T cell dependent immune response upon processing by antigen presenting cells (APCs). Their immunological activity makes them potentially useful for generating material constructs that are applicable for the treatment of diseases, or as vaccines. Herein, we explored synthetic strategies to generate immunologically active polymer-carbohydrate conjugates and nanomaterials of the CZP, Polysaccharide A (PSA) derived from .

Bioderived materials that disarm the gut mucosal immune system: Potential lessons from commensal microbiota.

Over the course of evolution, mammals and gut commensal microbes have adapted to coexist with each other. This homeostatic coexistence is dependent on an intricate balance between tolerogenic and inflammatory responses directed towards beneficial, commensal microbes and pathogenic intruders, respectively. Immune tolerance towards the gut microflora is largely sustained by immunomodulatory molecules produced by the commensals, which protect the bacteria from immune advances and maintain the gut's unique tolerogenic microenvironment, as well as systemic homeostasis.

The Wheel of Change Moves On: Assessing the Severity of Stalking Behavior.

Stalking is a significant social issue. The inconsistency as to what defines stalking has resulted in the creation of different methods to measure the crime. However, there has been minimal work done that assesses the severity of individual stalking behaviors.

Biodistribution and toxicity of epitope-functionalized dextran iron oxide nanoparticles in a pregnant murine model.

In pursuit of a preventive therapeutic for maternal autoantibody-related (MAR) autism, we assessed the toxicity, biodistribution, and clearance of a MAR specific peptide-functionalized dextran iron oxide nanoparticle system in pregnant murine dams. We previously synthesized ~15 nm citrate-coated dextran iron oxide nanoparticles (DIONPs), surface-modified with polyethylene glycol and MAR peptides to produce systems for nanoparticle-based autoantibody reception and entrapments (SNAREs). First, we investigated their immunogenicity and MAR lactate dehydrogenase B antibody uptake in murine serum in vitro.

The NIH Open Citation Collection: A public access, broad coverage resource.

Citation data have remained hidden behind proprietary, restrictive licensing agreements, which raises barriers to entry for analysts wishing to use the data, increases the expense of performing large-scale analyses, and reduces the robustness and reproducibility of the conclusions. For the past several years, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Portfolio Analysis (OPA) has been aggregating and enhancing citation data that can be shared publicly. Here, we describe the NIH Open Citation Collection (NIH-OCC), a public access database for biomedical research that is made freely available to the community.

Towards a nanoparticle-based prophylactic for maternal autoantibody-related autism.

Recently, the causative agents of Maternal Autoantibody-Related (MAR) autism, pathological autoantibodies and their epitopic targets (e.g. lactate dehydrogenase B [LDH B] peptide), have been identified.

A multiplatform strategy for the discovery of conventional monoclonal antibodies that inhibit the voltage-gated potassium channel Kv1.3.

Identifying monoclonal antibodies that block human voltage-gated ion channels (VGICs) is a challenging endeavor exacerbated by difficulties in producing recombinant ion channel proteins in amounts that support drug discovery programs. We have developed a general strategy to address this challenge by combining high-level expression of recombinant VGICs in Tetrahymena thermophila with immunization of phylogenetically diverse species and unique screening tools that allow deep-mining for antibodies that could potentially bind functionally important regions of the protein. Using this approach, we targeted human Kv1.

Chickens with humanized immunoglobulin genes generate antibodies with high affinity and broad epitope coverage to conserved targets.

Transgenic animal platforms for the discovery of human monoclonal antibodies have been developed in mice, rats, rabbits and cows. The immune response to human proteins is limited in these animals by their tolerance to mammalian-conserved epitopes. To expand the range of epitopes that are accessible, we have chosen an animal host that is less phylogenetically related to humans.

Assessing kinetic and epitopic diversity across orthogonal monoclonal antibody generation platforms.

The ability of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to target specific antigens with high precision has led to an increasing demand to generate them for therapeutic use in many disease areas. Historically, the discovery of therapeutic mAbs has relied upon the immunization of mammals and various in vitro display technologies. While the routine immunization of rodents yields clones that are stable in serum and have been selected against vast arrays of endogenous, non-target self-antigens, it is often difficult to obtain species cross-reactive mAbs owing to the generally high sequence similarity shared across human antigens and their mammalian orthologs.

Musings on male sex work: a "virtual" discussion.

Contributors and editors were asked to respond to a series of questions concerning male sex work in order to stimulate an informal "conversation." Some of the topics explored include: why people seek the services of prostitutes; is the term "sex work" favorable to "prostitution": is it right to pay for sex; and is exploitation a necessary part of the sex worker/client interchange'? Contributors' responses were compiled and listed in the order they were received. Common elements of their responses are summarized and the advantages of this informal approach are articulated.

Talk to your staff about distance education.

Most health care professionals and managers feel the need to finish their undergraduate or graduate degree to maintain their present position or to advance to a higher one. Distance education is a convenient alternative where students complete their studies from home using the postal service or computer.

Online degrees: a convenient alternative for health care professionals.

Online degrees are a convenient way for health care professionals to complete their degree, earn an advanced degree, or continue their education. Colleges all over the country are adding online courses and degrees to attract working adults who may not have the time to attend class the old-fashioned way.

Long-term trends in pH, aluminium and dissolved organic carbon in Scottish fresh waters; implications for brown trout (Salmo trutta) survival.

Over the past 30 years upland streams and lochs in Scotland have shown significant signs of recovery from acidification, particularly in terms of declining concentrations of non-marine sulphate (nm-SO(4)). Long-term index sites in central and southwest Scotland reveal a significant decline in the concentration of biologically important components, notably acidity (H(+)) and labile (toxic) forms of aluminium (Al-L), whilst dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and complexed forms of aluminium (AL-NL) have increased significantly. Although these improvements should increase the probability of brown trout survival, and have resulted in increased acid neutralising capacity (ANC) in fishless streams to values close to current critical limits, there is still a relatively poor correlation between ANC and current fish status.

Quantifying the effects of forestry practices on the recovery of upland streams and lochs from acidification.

Trends in long-term chemistry data are presented for 37 acidified upland streams and lochs, located in four areas (A, B, C and D) across Scotland, to provide a comparison between recovery rates of moorland catchments and forest catchments at different stages of the management cycle. For all sites, non-marine sulfate (nm-SO(4)) showed a significant decline in annual median concentrations, the greatest decline being in streams draining felled catchments, which showed a 50% greater decline than catchments with moorland or young, aggrading forests. A similar pattern was found for chloride (Cl) concentrations in Area C, which reflected the reduced interception of sea-salt aerosols following clearfelling.

Long-term variability in the deposition of marine ions at west coast sites in the UK Acid Waters Monitoring Network: impacts on surface water chemistry and significance for trend determination.

Eight lake sites in central and south-west Scotland, north-west England and north Wales, forming part of the UK Acid Waters Monitoring Network (UKAWMN), have been studied with regard to the influence of marine ions on surface water chemistry. Since monitoring began in 1988 these sites have exhibited large and long-term variation in Cl concentration, which are consistent between regions and can be linked to inter-annual variations in wet deposition. Through regression analysis against Cl, the response of other solutes to these fluctuations has been assessed.

Distance education in the twenty-first century.

Most health care professionals and managers feel the need to finish their undergraduate or graduate degree to maintain their present position or to advance to a higher position. Distance education is a convenient alternative where students complete their studies from home using the postal service or computer.

Recruiting and retaining staff in the twenty-first century.

There is a shortage of health care professionals across the country, as well as a shortage of registered nurses that is compromising patient care. This shortage will reach crisis proportions in the twenty-first century. Hospitals will have to upgrade their recruitment efforts and retain the employees that they have.

Physical association of starch biosynthetic enzymes with starch granules of maize endosperm. Granule-associated forms of starch synthase I and starch branching enzyme II.

Antibodies were used to probe the degree of association of starch biosynthetic enzymes with starch granules isolated from maize (Zea mays) endosperm. Graded washings of the starch granule, followed by release of polypeptides by gelatinization in 2% sodium dodecyl sulfate, enables distinction between strongly and loosely adherent proteins. Mild aqueous washing of granules resulted in near-complete solubilization of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase, indicating that little, if any, ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase is granule associated.

Inhibition and Ultraviolet-Induced Chemical Modification of UDP-Glucose:(1,3)-beta-Glucan (Callose) Synthase by Chlorpromazine : Mechanism of Chlorpromazine Binding to the Plant Plasma Membrane.

UDP-glucose:(1,3)-beta-glucan (callose) synthase (CS) from storage tissue of red beet (Beta vulgaris L.) was strongly inhibited by the phenothiazine drug chlorpromazine (CPZ). In the absence of ultraviolet irradiation, CPZ was a noncompetitive inhibitor with 50% inhibitory concentration values for plasma membrane and solubilized CS of 100 and 90 mum, respectively.

An Antisense Pectin Methylesterase Gene Alters Pectin Chemistry and Soluble Solids in Tomato Fruit.

Pectin methylesterase (PME, EC 3.1.11) demethoxylates pectins and is believed to be involved in degradation of pectic cell wall components by polygalacturonase in ripening tomato fruit.

Reversibility of lake acidification at the Round Loch of Glenhead, Galloway, Scotland.

Levels of acidic deposition have declined in Galloway over the last two decades. At the Round Loch of Glenhead this has led to a slight recovery from lake acidification, lake water pH rose by approximately 0.2 units between 1978 and 1989.

Rapid Enrichment of CHAPS-Solubilized UDP-Glucose: (1,3)-beta-Glucan (Callose) Synthase from Beta vulgaris L. by Product Entrapment : Entrapment Mechanisms and Polypeptide Characterization.

Rapid enrichment of CHAPS-solubilized UDP-glucose:(1,3)-beta-glucan (callose) synthase from storage tissue of red beet (Beta vulgaris L.) is obtained when the preparation is incubated with an enzyme assay mixture, then centrifuged and the enzyme released from the callose pellet with a buffer containing EDTA and CHAPS (20-fold purification relative to microsomes). When centrifuged at high speed (80,000g), the enzyme can also be pelleted in the absence of substrate (UDP-Glc) or synthesis of callose, due to nonspecific aggregation of proteins caused by excess cations and insufficient detergent in the assay buffer.

Molecular cloning of tomato pectin methylesterase gene and its expression in rutgers, ripening inhibitor, nonripening, and never ripe tomato fruits.

We have purified pectin methylesterase (PME; EC 3.1.11) from mature green (MG) tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.