A phase I, randomized study of combined IL-2 and therapeutic immunisation with antiretroviral therapy

Background  

Fully functional HIV-1-specific CD8 and CD4 effector T-cell responses are vital to the containment of viral activity and disease progression. These responses are lacking in HIV-1-infected patients with progressive disease. We attempted to augment fully functional HIV-1-specific CD8 and CD4 effector T-cell responses in patients with advanced chronic HIV-1 infection.     

Electrochemical Oxidation of Metolazone at a Glassy Carbon Electrode

Metolazone is a diuretic agent used in patients with edematous states and/or hypertension. The electrochemical behavior of metolazone on a glassy carbon electrode was investigated using cyclic, differential pulse, and square‐wave voltammetry at different pHs. The pH dependent oxidation of metolazone occurs in two consecutive steps in a diffusion‐controlled mechanism and involves the formation of a main oxidation product. The first oxidation process is reversible, and involves two electrons and two protons corresponding to the oxidation of nitrogen in the sulfonamide moiety. The second oxidation process is irreversible, also occurs in the sulfonamide moiety, involves a one electron‐transfer, and is followed by deprotonation to produce a cation radical, which reacts with water and yields a hydroxylated product. The diffusion coefficient of metolazone was calculated to be 3.43×10^?6 cm² s^?1 in pH 7.0 0.1 M phosphate buffer.     

Femtosecond vibrational dynamics of self-trapping in a quasi-one-dimensional system

We have directly time resolved the lattice motions associated with the formation of the self-trapped exciton in the quasi-one-dimensional system [Pt(en)(2)] [Pt(en)2Br2];(PF6)(4) ( en = ethylene-diamine, C2H8N2), using femtosecond impulsive excitation techniques. A strongly damped, low-frequency wave packet modulation at approximately 110 cm(-1) accompanies the formation of the self-trapped exciton on a approximately 200 fs time scale following excitation of the intervalence charge-transfer transition. Coherent oscillations at the ground state vibrational frequency and its harmonics are also detected.     

Spectral Asymptotics for Higher-Order Ordinary Differential Equations

This paper gives one-term componentwise asymptotics for theM and spectral matrices of a self-adjoint realisation of aneven-order ordinary differential expression. The underlyinginterval is assumed to have at least one regular endpoint, andthe boundary conditions are supposed to be separated. Furthermore,the weight function and the reciprocal of the highest-ordercoefficient are supposed to be of regular variation at the regularendpoint, in the sense of Bingham, Goldie and Teugels. 1991Mathematics Subject Classification: 34B24, 34E05.     

In situ evaluation of anticancer drug methotrexate-DNA interaction using a DNA-electrochemical biosensor and AFM characterization

An in situ evaluation of the dsDNA-methotrexate (MTX) interaction was performed by voltammetry using a DNA-electrochemical biosensor and characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM) at a highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) surface. Electrochemical experiments in incubated solutions showed that the interaction of MTX with dsDNA leads to modifications to the dsDNA structure in a time-dependent manner. The AFM images show reorganization of the DNA self-assembled network on the surface of the HOPG electrode upon binding methotrexate and the formation of a more densely packed and slightly thicker MTX-dsDNA lattice with a large number of aggregates embedded into the network film. The intercalation of MTX between complementary base pairs of dsDNA lead to the increase of purine oxidation peaks due to the unwinding of the dsDNA. The dsDNA-electrochemical biosensor and the purinic homo-polynucleotide single stranded sequences of guanosine and adenosine, poly[G] and poly[A]-electrochemical biosensors, were used to investigate and understand the interaction between MTX and dsDNA.     

TRPM5-expressing microvillous cells in the main olfactory epithelium

Background  

The main olfactory epithelium (MOE) in the nasal cavity detects a variety of air borne molecules that provide information regarding the presence of food, predators and other relevant social and environmental factors. Within the epithelium are ciliated sensory neurons, supporting cells, basal cells and microvillous cells, each of which is distinct in morphology and function. Arguably, the least understood, are the microvillous cells, a population of cells that are small in number and whose function is not known. We previously found that in a mouse strain in which the TRPM5 promoter drives expression of the green fluorescent protein (GFP), a population of ciliated olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs), as well as a population of cells displaying microvilli-like structures is labeled. Here we examined the morphology and immunocytochemical properties of these microvillous-like cells using immunocytochemical methods.     

Electrochemical Redox Behavior of Omeprazole Using a Glassy Carbon Electrode

The electrochemical redox behavior of omeprazole (OMZ), a gastric acid pump inhibitor, was investigated at a glassy carbon electrode using cyclic, differential pulse and square‐wave voltammetry over a wide pH range. The pH‐dependent oxidation occurs in two irreversible consecutive charge transfer reactions. Adsorption of the nonelectroactive product was also observed. The first oxidation involves removal of one electron, followed by deprotonation and leads to the formation of a hydroxylated species. The second oxidation process is related to the hydroxyl and amino groups in the benzimidazole moiety. The reduction is irreversible, also pH‐dependent, and occurs in a single step at the sulfoxide group in a diffusion‐controlled mechanism. The diffusion coefficient of omeprazole was calculated to be D_OMZ=2.31×10^?6 cm² s^?1.