OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to evaluate the defense mechanisms used by depressive and anxious patients without comorbidities compared to those used by controls and to determine whether these patterns differ between diagnoses. METHOD The sample was composed of 167 psychiatric patients and 36 controls that were evaluated using the Defense Style Questionnaire 40. All subjects were evalua...

Serum obtained from mice 3 to 5 weeks after the third i.p. dose of dengue type 2 virus (DV) protected recipient mice against intracerebral challenge with DV, whereas the serum obtained after I and 2 weeks provided minimum protection. Adoptive intravenous transfer of immune spleen cells obtained from mice I to 5 weeks after immunization did not protect recipient mice against even a small dose (I...

Viruses are responsible for 4 to 50% destruction of bacterial and archaeal communities (Breitbart and Rohwer, 2005; Rohwer and Thurber, 2009) and the selective pressures imposed by these rapidly evolving viruses (parasites) has driven the diversification of microbial defence systems. Previously our understanding of antiviral immune systems in bacteria has focused on encounter blocks, adsorption...

Over recent years there has been a tremendous increase in the understanding of pulmonary immunity, mostly driven by large research efforts in understanding the basis of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Bronchiectasis is well understood. In this article, an overview of pulmonary defence mechanisms as well as inflammatory mechanisms is given as a basis to understand the pathogene...

The complement system is one of the host’s primary defence mechanisms against pathogens. Its activation involves proteolytic cascades enzymatic reactions that result in products with effector functions and recognition molecules on surface microorganisms [1,2].

introduction: a large body of evidence points to oxidative stress as prime candidate mediating the behavioral impairments and memory deficits in alzheimer's disease (ad). it has been demonstrated that hyperoxia preconditioning activates complex endogenous neuroprotective mechanisms including an increase in capacity of antioxidant defence mechanisms. the aim of this study was to investigate...

Flood defence maintenance strategies require understanding of the time-dependent behaviour of flood defences. Quantitative risk and reliability methods provide a rational decision-making basis for flood defence management. Failure mechanisms influencing the flood defence reliability are expressed by a limit state equation and organised in a fault tree. One or more random variables in the limit ...

Plants counteract attack by herbivorous insects using a variety of inducible defence mechanisms. The production of toxic proteins and metabolites that instantly affect the herbivore's development are examples of direct induced defence. In addition, plants may release mixtures of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that indirectly protect the plant by attracting natural enemies of the herbivore. R...

The mammalian organism is comprised of tissue types with varying degrees of self-renewal and regenerative capacity. In most organs self-renewing tissue-specific stem and progenitor cells contribute to organ maintenance, and it is vital to maintain a functional stem cell pool to preserve organ homeostasis. Various conditions like tissue injury, stress responses, and regeneration challenge the st...

Previous investigations, using an effective non-invasive procedure of short-term experimental stress, proved that Obese vs. Normal Women develop about double the intensity of negative emotions (anxiety, anger, sadness) when under stress (Bonaiuto et al., 1993). A high production of negative emotions as a reaction to many everyday life stressors forces people to resort to psychological defense m...