OBJECTIVE Recent studies have demonstrated that MICA (major histocompatibility complex class I chain-related genes) on the short arm of the chromosome 6 are associated with susceptibility to various autoimmune diseases in Caucasians. The aim of our study was to investigate the role of MICA in type 1 diabetes susceptibility independent of the HLA DR-DQ polymorphism in genetically distinct Korean...

Extended layering of ionic liquids (ILs) on the mica surface has been reported by several groups previously and it is generally accepted that the electrostatic interaction at the IL/mica interface is critical to the observed extended layering. Here we report that, indeed, water adsorption on the mica surface is the key to the extended layering of ionic liquids. The atomic force microscopy (AFM)...

This study investigated whether polymorphisms of the MICA (major histocompatibility complex class I chain-related gene A) gene are associated with eye lesions due to Toxoplasma gondii infection in a group of immunocompetent patients from southeastern Brazil. The study enrolled 297 patients with serological diagnosis of toxoplasmosis. Participants were classified into two distinct groups after c...

MICA and MICB are stress-induced ligands recognized by the activating receptor NKG2D. A microRNA encoded by human cytomegalovirus downregulates MICB expression by targeting a specific site in the MICB 3¢ untranslated region. As this site is conserved among different MICB alleles and a similar site exists in the MICA 3¢ untranslated region, we speculated that these sites are targeted by cellular...

MHC class I-related chain molecules A and B (MICA and B) expressed on the cell-surface of tumor cells are ligands for an activating receptor, NKG2D, expressed on natural killer (NK) cells and stimulate the NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity. On the other hand, the soluble form of MICA and B produced by proteolytic cleavage of cell-surface MIC interferes with NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity. We investi...

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and surface-enhanced resonance Raman scattering (SERRS) results are reported for self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of 4-(4-mercaptobutyl)-4‘-ferrocenylazobenzene, compound 1, on Admica and Wmica thin films. Two different Admica surfaces, designated Au(rough)/ mica and Au(lll)/mica, have been characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM) to define their r...

A sample from the small-sized tailing pile of an Iranian mica processing plant was subjected to a series of mica recovery experiments. Mineralogical and microscopic investigations indicated that the dominant mica mineral was phlogopite which was accompanied by plagioclase feldspars. Before beneficiation studies, the particle size distribution of the representative sample was obtained, and the s...

THE EFFECT OF E-GLASS FIBERS AND PHLOGOPITE MICA ON THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES AND DIMENSIONAL STABILITY OF RIGID PVC FOAMS by Murtatha M. Jamel The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2015 Under the Supervision of Professor Nidal Abu-Zahra Short E-Glass Fibers (GF) and Phlogopite Mica (M) were used separately and simultaneously to enhance the dimensional stability and mechanical properties of ex...

Nowadays polymer nanocomposites have introduced as a new class of food packaging materials due to their enhanced mechanical, thermal, and barrier properties. In this study PET nano composites were prepared by melt blending of poly (ethylene terephthalate) pellets and mica nanoparticles. The morphology of PET/mica nanocomposites was characterized by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron mi...