Inhibitory oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs), which are capable of blocking CpG-induced inflammation, have been anticipated to be beneficial therapeutic agents for autoimmune diseases. In this study, we show that GpC ODN, which inverted the cytosine guanine sequence of CpG motif to guanine cytosine sequence, is an inhibitory ODN. The inhibitory effects of GpC ODN on CpG ODN-induced immune activation...

A quantitative trait locus (QTL) controlling wheat grain protein content (GPC) and flour protein content (FPC) was identified using doubled haploid (DH) lines developed from a cross between the hard red winter wheat variety 'Yumechikara' with a high protein content used for bread making, and the soft red winter wheat 'Kitahonami' with a low protein content used for Japanese white salted noodles...

The family Arenaviridae includes a number of highly pathogenic viruses that are responsible for acute hemorrhagic fevers in humans. Genetic diversity among arenavirus species in their respective rodent hosts supports the continued emergence of new pathogens. In the absence of available vaccines or therapeutic agents, the hemorrhagic fever arenaviruses remain a serious public health and biodefen...

The present study investigates the effect of the administration of alpha-glycerylphosphorylcholine (alpha-GPC) on scopolamine-induced amnesia and on brain acetylcholine (ACh) levels and release in rats. The results indicate that alpha-GPC, when administered orally, reverses the amnesia caused by scopolamine in passive avoidance. The peak effect is observed using 600 mg/kg IG, 5 h before trainin...

This work presents a novel way to examine the characteristics of fly ash, copper slag (CPS) along with addition Ultrafine Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (UFGGBFS) based Geopolymer Concrete (GPC) for various molarities (10M, 12M and 14M). In GPC, ash was replaced UFGGBFS (5 %, 10 % 15 %) used as fine aggregate. Mechanical Characterization such split tensile, flexural strength, workability ...

This paper addresses nonlinear Generalised Predictive Control (GPC) for nonlinear mechanical systems and its relationship with dynamical inversion control. First continuous-time generalised predictive control for non-linear systems is developed and the stability of the closed-loop systems is shown. It is pointed out that dynamical inversion control is a special case of continuous-time nonlinear...

This paper presents a new approach based on Youla parametrization, to retune Generalised Predictive Control (GPC) law while preserving its two degrees of freedom structure. This results in a more robust controller with improved high frequency disturbance rejection properties. The proposed strategy expresses an initial controller in a powerful form via the Youla theory, each transfer function of...

Brain (31)P-neurometabolites play an important role in energy and membrane metabolism. Unambiguous identification and quantification of these neurochemicals in different brain regions would be a great aid in advancing the understanding of metabolic processes in the nervous system. Phosphomonoester (PME), consisting of phosphoethanolamine (PE) and phosphocholine (PC), is the "building block" for...

TLR9 recognizes unmethylated CpG-containing DNA commonly found in bacteria. Synthetic oligonucleotides containing CpG-motifs (CpG ODNs) recapitulate the activation of TLR9 by microbial DNA, whereas inversion of the CG dinucleotide within the CpG motif to GC (GpC ODNs) renders such ODNs inactive. This difference cannot be attributed to binding of ODNs to the full-length TLR9 ectodomain, as both ...

The origin of the arachidonate released from platelets on stimulation with thrombin was investigated by comparing the specific activities of released arachidonate and of arachidonoyl-containing phospholipids using rat platelets prelabelled with arachidonate. Quantification of the released arachidonate was determined in the presence of BW 755 C, a dual cyclo-oxygenase/lipoxygenase inhibitor, whi...