Elastic properties and mechanical stability of chiral and filled viral capsids.

The elasticity and mechanical stability of empty and filled viral capsids under external force loading are studied in a combined analytical and numerical approach. We analyze the influence of capsid structure and chirality on the mechanical properties. We find that generally skew shells have lower stretching energy.

Synchronization, phase locking, and metachronal wave formation in ciliary chains.

Synchronization and wave formation in one-dimensional ciliary arrays are studied analytically and numerically. We develop a simple model for ciliary motion that is complex enough to describe well the behavior of beating cilia but simple enough to study collective effects analytically. Beating cilia are described as phase oscillators moving on circular trajectories with a variable radius.

Products of anti-CD3/anti-CD28 activated lymphocytes induce differentiation and maturation of dendritic cells and have adjuvant-like activity in vitro and in vivo.

Dendritic cells (DC) orchestrate immune responses under direction of cytokines/chemokines in their microenvironment. To investigate the influence of that generated during T cell activation, we stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) with anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 coated beads and tested cell-free culture supernatants (lymphocyte conditioned medium, LCM) for cytokine/chemokine composition and biologic activity. LCM contained a battery of mediators important in the biology of myeloid (mDC) and plasmacytoid (pDC) DC.

Distribution of pigment dispersing hormone- and tachykinin-related peptides in the central nervous system of the copepod crustacean Calanus finmarchicus.

Peptides represent the largest class of signaling molecules used by nervous systems, functioning as locally-released paracrines and circulating hormones in both invertebrates and vertebrates. While many studies have focused on elucidating peptidergic systems in higher crustaceans, little is known about neuropeptides in the more primitive crustacean taxa. Here, we have begun an investigation of the peptides present in the central nervous system (CNS) of the copepod crustacean Calanus finmarchicus, presenting immunohistochemical data on the presence and distribution of pigment dispersing hormone (PDH) and tachykinin-related peptide (TRP).

Undifferentiated embryonal sarcoma of the liver in adults.

Background: Undifferentiated embryonal sarcoma of the liver (UESL), a rare tumor that predominantly affects children, generally has been considered an aggressive neoplasm with an unfavorable prognosis. More recent reports have indicated that modern multimodal treatment and supportive care improve the survival of children with UESL. Data regarding the treatment and survival of adults have not been reviewed comprehensively, and only a few adult patients with UESL have been reported in the literature.

Evoking biphone neighborhoods with verbal transformations: illusory changes demonstrate both lexical competition and inhibition.

When a recorded verbal stimulus repeats over and over, perceptual changes occur and listeners hear competing forms. These verbal transformations (VTs) were obtained for a phonemically related set of 24 consonant-vowel syllables that varied widely in frequency-weighted neighborhood density (FWND). Listener's initial transformations involving substitution of consonants versus vowels were strongly correlated with the lexical substitution neighborhood [r=+0.

Fluorescence measurement in thick tissue layers by linear or nonlinear long-wavelength excitation.

Samples of different animal tissues containing, at variable depth, a thin fluorescent sheet are irradiated with continuous violet or red light or with nonlinearly absorbed pulsed infrared light. The fluorescence intensity measured at the tissue surface as a function of the location of the fluorescent sheet exhibits, after a transition zone close to the tissue surface, an exponential decrease, the slope of which depends on the optical penetration depths of the exciting and the fluorescent light. From these results the total fluorescence output is determined for specific fluorophor distributions.

Insulinoma and gastrinoma syndromes from a single intrapancreatic neuroendocrine tumor.

Context: The insulinoma syndrome is marked by fasting hypoglycemia and inappropriate elevations of insulin. The gastrinoma syndrome is characterized by hypergastrinemia, ulcer disease, and/or diarrhea. Rarely, insulinoma and gastrinoma coexist in the same patient simultaneously.

Mechanoreceptors in calanoid copepods: designed for high sensitivity.

The mechanoreceptors of the first antennae of Pleuromamma xiphias, a mesopelagic calanoid copepod, are critical for the detection of potential threats. These receptors exceed the physiological performance of other crustacean mechanoreceptors in sensitivity to water velocities as well as in frequency response. A study of these receptors was initiated to elucidate structure-function relationships.

Carbon dioxide insufflation improves intubation depth in double-balloon enteroscopy: a randomized, controlled, double-blind trial.

Background And Study Aims: Double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE) has been proven effective for deep intubation of the small bowel. However, intubation depth is limited by distention of the small bowel due to air insufflation during the procedure. The present trial investigated whether carbon dioxide (CO (2)) instead of standard air insufflation would improve intubation depth during DBE, as well as reduce postprocedure pain.

Kinetics of DNA-mediated docking reactions between vesicles tethered to supported lipid bilayers.

Membrane-membrane recognition and binding are crucial in many biological processes. We report an approach to studying the dynamics of such reactions by using DNA-tethered vesicles as a general scaffold for displaying membrane components. This system was used to characterize the docking reaction between two populations of tethered vesicles that display complementary DNA.

Mechanical limits of viral capsids.

We studied the elastic properties and mechanical stability of viral capsids under external force-loading with computer simulations. Our approach allows the implementation of specific geometries corresponding to specific phages, such as phi29 and cowpea chlorotic mottle virus. We demonstrate how, in a combined numerical and experimental approach, the elastic parameters can be determined with high precision.

Collective effects in ciliar arrays.

Collective effects in one-dimensional ciliar arrays are studied analytically and numerically. A new phase oscillator description for ciliar motion is introduced which depends only on a single parameter. It allows the systematic study of hydrodynamic interactions between cilia exhibiting arbitrary beating patterns.

An entropic mechanism to generate highly cooperative and specific binding from protein phosphorylations.

Cooperative interactions are essential to the operation of many biochemical networks. Such networks then respond ultrasensitively in a nonlinear manner to linear changes in network input, and network output, for example, levels of a phosphorylated protein or of gene expression, becomes a sigmoidal function of concentrations of input molecules. We present a novel, entropic ultrasensitivity mechanism that generates highly cooperative and specific binding between two proteins.

WOFIE stimulates regulatory T cells: a 2-year follow-up of renal transplant recipients.

Background: Initial interruption of immunosuppression for 72 hr was analyzed in renal transplant recipients according to Calne et al.'s "window of opportunity for immunologic engagement" (WOFIE) concept.

Methods: This pilot study was designed as a randomized, open-label, prospective trial of 40 recipients (20 in the WOFIE group, 20 in the control group) of cadaveric kidney transplants who were followed up for 2 years.

Diffusive dynamics of vesicles tethered to a fluid supported bilayer by single-particle tracking.

We recently introduced a method to tether intact phospholipid vesicles onto a fluid supported lipid bilayer using DNA hybridization (Yoshina-Ishii, C.; Miller, G. P.

Polling the effective neighborhoods of spoken words with the verbal transformation effect.

Studies of the effects of lexical neighbors upon the recognition of spoken words have generally assumed that the most salient competitors differ by a single phoneme. The present study employs a procedure that induces the listeners to perceive and call out the salient competitors. By presenting a recording of a monosyllable repeated over and over, perceptual adaptation is produced, and perception of the stimulus is replaced by perception of a competitor.

Intelligibilities of 1-octave rectangular bands spanning the speech spectrum when heard separately and paired.

There is a need, both for speech theory and for many practical applications, to know the intelligibilities of individual passbands that span the speech spectrum when they are heard singly and in combination. While indirect procedures have been employed for estimating passband intelligibilities (e.g.

Temperature compensation in the escape response of a marine copepod, Calanus finmarchicus (Crustacea).

Calanus finmarchicus, the dominant mesozooplankter of the North Atlantic, is an important food source for many fishes and other planktivores. This species, which has limited diel vertical migration, depends on its fast-start escape response to evade predators. It has myelinated neuronal axons, which contribute to its rapid and powerful escape response.

Papillomavirus virus-like particles induce cytokines characteristic of innate immune responses in plasmacytoid dendritic cells.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) virus-like particles (VLP) are being extensively tested as vaccines for the prevention of HPV-associated cervical cancer. Dendritic cells (DC) acquire and present antigens, initiating innate and adaptive immune responses. It has been shown previously that DC of the myeloid lineage are capable of generating adaptive immune responses to HPV VLP in vitro.

Enhancing intelligibility of narrowband speech with out-of-band noise: evidence for lateral suppression at high-normal intensity.

Previous studies have shown that the intelligibility of filtered speech can be enhanced by filling stopbands with noise. The present study found that this enhancement occurred only when speech intensity was sufficiently high to degrade performance. Intelligibility decreased by about 15% when narrowband speech was increased from 45 to 65 dBA (corresponding to broadband speech levels of about 60 and 80 dBA), and decreased by 20% at a level of 75 dBA.

Mosaic status in lymphocytes of infertile men with or without Klinefelter syndrome.

Background: Gonosomal aneuploidies such as Klinefelter syndrome (47,XXY) are the most frequent chromosomal aberration in infertile men. Normally the chromosomal status of patients is detected by karyotyping of up to 20 metaphase spreads of lymphocyte nuclei, whereby low grade mosaicism may be overlooked. To test whether Klinefelter patients with 47,XXY karyotype or infertile men with 46,XY karyotype represent gonosomal mosaicisms, we performed meta- and interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) on 45 men.

Vesicle adsorption and lipid bilayer formation on glass studied by atomic force microscopy.

The adsorption of phosphatidylcholine (PC) vesicles (30, 50, and 100 nm nominal diameters) and of dye-labeled PC vesicles (labeled with 6% Texas Red fluorophore (TR) and encapsulated carboxy fluorescein (CF)) to glass surfaces was studied by contact mode atomic force microscopy in aqueous buffer. These studies were performed in part to unravel details of the previously observed isolated rupture of dye-labeled PC vesicles on glass (Johnson, J. M.

Patterned supported lipid bilayers and monolayers on poly(dimethylsiloxane).

A simple and practical method for patterning supported lipid bilayers on poly(dimethylsiloxane) is presented. By using electron microscopy grids to laterally control the extent of plasma oxidation, the substrate is partitioned into regions of different hydrophilicities. Addition of vesicles then results in the spontaneous formation of lipid bilayers and monolayers side-by-side on the surface, separated by regions that contain no lipid and/or a region with adhering vesicles.