Several epidemiological studies have reported that temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) are more prevalent in women than in men. It has recently been proposed that sex hormones such as estrogen, testosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) are involved with the pathogenesis of TMDs. Although studies have investigated the relationship between estrogen and testosterone and the restoration of TMDs...

*Singh, K; *Masuda, K; *Thonar, E.; *An, H; +*Cs-Szabo, G +* Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL [email protected] INTRODUCTION: The functions of the intervertebral disc (IVD) as a unit, and of the annulus fibrosus (AF) and nucleus pulposus (NP) individually, are determined by the molecular composition of their extracellular matrices (ECM). The outerand inner-AF consists of large collag...

Antigen targeted immunotherapies might represent a novel treatment for B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL). We screened the mRNA expression of tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) from the literature (fibromodulin, survivin, OFA-iLRP, BAGE, G250, MAGE1, PRAME, proteinase, syntaxin, hTERT, WT-1) and TAAs defined previously by serological analysis of cDNA expression libraries from leukemic ce...

Introduction. Degradation of articular cartilage is a central feature of joint diseases. Proteolysis of the two major structural components of the extracellular matrix of articular cartilage, namely aggrecan and type II collagen, disrupts the mechanical integrity of the tissue leading eventually to erosion and exposure of subchondral bone. Depletion of aggrecan is one of the earliest events in ...

Fibromodulin is an extracellular matrix protein normally produced by collagen-rich tissues; the fibromodulin gene has been found to be the most overexpressed gene in B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia. In this study, fibromodulin was expressed at the gene level (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction [RT-PCR]) in all patients with B-CLL (n = 75) and in most (5 of 7) patients with mant...

Members of the ADAMTS (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs) family are known to influence development, angiogenesis, coagulation and progression of arthritis. As proteinases their substrates include the von Willebrand factor precursor and extracellular matrix components such as procollagen, hyalectans (hyaluronan-binding proteoglycans including aggrecan), decorin, fib...

Here we report experimental results for a carbon nanotube (CNT) based amplitude-modulated (AM) demodulator for modulation frequencies up to 100 kHz. Further, the CNT based demodulator was successfully demonstrated in an actual AM radio receiver operating at a carrier frequency of 1 GHz and capable of demodulating high-fidelity audio. The demodulation originates from the nonlinear current−voltag...

Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) possess important characteristics that could be exploited in therapeutic strategies for Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) and for certain complications of Type 2 Diabetes (T2D). MSCs can inhibit autoimmune, alloimmune and inflammatory processes. Moreover, they can promote the function of endogenous and transplanted pancreatic islets. Furthermore, they can stimulate angiogenesi...

Although osteoarthritis (OA) has existed since the dawn of humanity, its pathogenesis remains poorly understood. OA is no longer considered a “wear and tear” condition but rather one driven by proteases where chronic low-grade inflammation may play a role in perpetuating proteolytic activity. While multiple factors are likely active in this process, recent evidence has implicated the innate imm...