Coadministration of a Plasmid Encoding HIV-1 Gag Enhances the Efficacy of Cancer DNA Vaccines.

DNA vaccination holds great promise for the prevention and treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. However, the clinical ability of DNA vaccines is still controversial due to the limited immune response initially observed in humans. We hypothesized that electroporation of a plasmid encoding the HIV-1 Gag viral capsid protein would enhance cancer DNA vaccine potency.

Layers over layer-by-layer assemblies: silanization of polyelectrolyte multilayers.

The functionalization of poly(allylamine hydrochloride)/poly(acrylic acid) (PAH/PAA) polyelectrolyte multilayers by silanes reacted from the gas phase is studied depending on reaction time and temperature, pH of multilayer assembly, and nature of the reacting silane group. Whereas monochlorosilanes only diffuse in the multilayer and graft in limited amount, trichloro- and triethoxysilanes form rapidly a continuous gel layer on the surface of the multilayer, with a thickness of ca. 10-20 nm.

A coherent organization of differentiation proteins is required to maintain an appropriate thyroid function in the Pendred thyroid.

Context: Pendred syndrome is caused by mutations in the gene coding for pendrin, an apical Cl-/I- exchanger.

Objective: To analyze intrathyroidal compensatory mechanisms when pendrin is lacking, we investigated the thyroid of a patient with Pendred syndrome. The expression of proteins involved in thyroid hormone synthesis, markers of oxidative stress (OS), cell proliferation, apoptosis, and antioxidant enzymes were analyzed.

Thickness and elastic modulus of plasma treated PDMS silica-like surface layer.

The adhesion of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) rubber is largely improved by oxygen plasma surface treatment. The thickness of the silica-like surface layer is characterized by performing transmission electron microscopy imagery on microtome slices of welded plasma treated surfaces. The specific double layer contrast can be considered as equal to twice the thickness of the silica-like layer.