Search results for "Complement"
showing 10 items of 2113 documents
Complement and atherogenesis: The unknown connection
1999
The question why low-density lipoprotein (LDL) stranded in the subendothelium of arteries should acquire the proinflammatory properties that initiate and sustain atherogenesis has puzzled researchers for decades. The most popular concept contends that oxidative processes are crucial because oxidized LDL (ox-LDL) produced in vitro has atherogenic properties and small amounts of it are found in atherosclerotic lesions. Recently, a possible role for vascular infections has also been considered because infectious agents, in particular Chlamydia pneumoniae, are sometimes present in the lesions. Here, evidence is summarized for a different concept of atherogenesis, which evolves from the fact tha…
Complement split products and proinflammatory cytokines in intraoperatively salvaged unwashed blood during hip replacement: comparison between hepari…
2008
Background and Objectives The aim of the present study was to investigate the quality of shed blood collected in a new intraoperative autotransfusion system (Sangvia®, AstraTech, Sweden) and to study whether heparin-coated surfaces in the device reduce the production of inflammatory mediators. Material and Methods The study was randomized and prospective. Twelve total hip arthroplasty patients whose blood was collected with a device having a heparin-coated surface and 12 patients whose blood was collected with a device having a non-heparin-coated surface were included. Venous blood was drawn from the patients preoperatively. Intraoperatively 200 ml salvaged blood was collected and samples…
A Methanol Extract ofBrugmansia arboreaAffects the Reinforcing and Motor Effects of Morphine and Cocaine in Mice
2013
Previous reports have shown that several of the effects of morphine, including the development of tolerance and physical withdrawal symptoms, are reduced by extracts ofBrugmansia arborea(L.) Lagerheim (Solanaceae) (B. arborea). In the present study we evaluate the action of the methanol extract ofB. arborea(7.5–60 mg/kg) on the motor and reinforcing effects of morphine (20 and 40 mg/kg) and cocaine (25 mg/kg) using the conditioned place preference (CPP) procedure. At the doses employed,B. arboreadid not affect motor activity or induce any effect on CPP. The extract partially counteracted morphine-induced motor activity and completely blocked the CPP induced by 20 mg/kg morphine. On the othe…
Senataxin defective in ataxia oculomotor apraxia type 2 is involved in the defence against oxidative DNA damage
2007
Adefective response to DNA damage is observed in several human autosomal recessive ataxias with oculomotor apraxia, including ataxia-telangiectasia. We report that senataxin, defective in ataxia oculomotor apraxia (AOA) type 2, is a nuclear protein involved in the DNA damage response. AOA2 cells are sensitive to H2O2, camptothecin, and mitomycin C, but not to ionizing radiation, and sensitivity was rescued with full-length SETX cDNA. AOA2 cells exhibited constitutive oxidative DNA damage and enhanced chromosomal instability in response to H2O2. Rejoining of H2O2-induced DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) was significantly reduced in AOA2 cells compared to controls, and there was no evidence fo…
Emergency medical triage decisions are swayed by computer-manipulated cues of physical dominance in caller’s voice
2016
AbstractIn humans as well as other animals, displays of body strength such as power postures or deep masculine voices are associated with prevalence in conflicts of interest and facilitated access to resources. We conduct here an ecological and highly critical test of this hypothesis in a domain that, on first thought, would appear to be shielded from such influences: access to emergency medical care. Using acoustic manipulations of vocal masculinity, we systematically varied the perceived level of physical dominance of mock patients calling a medical call center simulator. Callers whose voice were perceived as indicative of physical dominance (i.e. those with low fundamental and formant fr…
Operator splitting methods for American option pricing
2004
Abstract We propose operator splitting methods for solving the linear complementarity problems arising from the pricing of American options. The space discretization of the underlying Black-Scholes Scholes equation is done using a central finite-difference scheme. The time discretization as well as the operator splittings are based on the Crank-Nicolson method and the two-step backward differentiation formula. Numerical experiments show that the operator splitting methodology is much more efficient than the projected SOR, while the accuracy of both methods are similar.
Global variation in the genetic and biochemical basis of diamondback moth resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis
1997
Insecticidal proteins from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) are becoming a cornerstone of ecologically sound pest management. However, if pests quickly adapt, the benefits of environmentally benign Bt toxins in sprays and genetically engineered crops will be short-lived. The diamondback moth ( Plutella xylostella ) is the first insect to evolve resistance to Bt in open-field populations. Here we report that populations from Hawaii and Pennsylvania share a genetic locus at which a recessive mutation associated with reduced toxin binding confers extremely high resistance to four Bt toxins. In contrast, resistance in a population from the Philippines shows multilocus control, a …
Mitochondrial DNA Portrait of Latvians: Towards the Understanding of the Genetic Structure of Baltic-Speaking Populations
2005
Summary Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variation was investigated in a sample of 299 Latvians, a Baltic-speaking population from Eastern Europe. Sequencing of the first hypervariable segment (HVS-I) in combination with analysis of informative coding region markers revealed that the vast majority of observed mtDNAs belong to haplogroups (hgs) common to most European populations. Analysis of the spatial distribution of mtDNA haplotypes found in Latvians, as well as in Baltic-speaking populations in general, revealed that they share haplotypes with all neighbouring populations irrespective of their linguistic affiliation. Hence, the results of our mtDNA analysis show that the previously described s…
On Information Processing in the Cat’s Visual Cortex
1986
We assume that the visual system serves for orientation in space, recognition of objects and the interpretation of scenes and scene sequences. This task breaks up into a series of partially interdependent subproblems which are solved by some 13–15 usually retinotopically organized areas. So far it has not been possible to correlate functions and areas unequivocally. One reason for this could be the inadequacy of the questions posed as a basis for experiments. However, we think it more likely that correlating a function with an area is, as a rule, inadmissible since the degree of the coupling in the whole system does not permit a simple divsion. Rather the type and degree of coupling determi…
Isolation of the Endothelin B Receptor from Bovine Lung Structure, Signal Sequence, and Binding Site
1995
Bovine lung endothelin-B receptor has been isolated in good yield with a new procedure involving the use of endothelin-1 coupled to iminobiotin with a long spacer and avidin-agarose affinity chromatography. Contrary to previous reports, evidence has been obtained that the native form of this receptor corresponds to the full-length transcript expected on the basis of cDNA clones. The binding of endothelin to a variety of shortened fragments of the full receptor suggests that the long N-terminal sequence of this receptor has very little influence on the binding of endothelin and that the main determinants of the endothelin binding site might be constituted by residues in the sixth, and possib…