Form follows function, and this maxim is particularly true for the nematode sperm cell. Motility is essential for fertilization, and the process of spermatogenesis culminates in the production of a crawling spermatozoon with an extended pseudopod. However, the morphological similarity to amoeboid cells of other organisms is not conserved at the molecular level. Instead of utilizing the actin cy...

Macrophage-stimulating protein (MSP) promotes the phagocytosis of C3bi-coated erythrocytes by resident peritoneal macrophages, although the mechanism by which this occurs is largely unknown. We show that MSP-induced complement-mediated phagocytosis requires the reorienting negativity (RON) receptor tyrosine kinase and the M 2 integrin, as evidenced by the inability of RON / and M / peritoneal m...

The merozoite surface protein-1 (MSP-1) is a blood stage antigen currently being tested as a vaccine against Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Determining the MSP-1(19) haplotype(s) present during infection is essential for assessments of MSP-1 vaccine efficacy and studies of protective immunity in human populations. The C-terminal fragment (MSP-1(19)) has four predominant haplotypes based on poin...

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a vision of the upcoming society. It can provide pervasive communication between two or more entities using 4G-LTE (Long Term Evolution) communication technology. In 4G-LTE networks, there are two important problems: helping manage the spectrum demands of IoT devices and achieving much more revenue with the limited resource. This paper proposes a pricing framewor...

Background As obese people frequently experience persistent musculoskeletal pain (MSP), understanding the relationship between obesity and may help develop therapeutic preventative approaches to treat discomfort from MSP. MSP can negatively impact such individuals’ quality of life their ability perform daily tasks. Therefore, more thorough investigations are required fully understand connection...

Extraction of the mid-sagittal plane (MSP) is a key step for brain image registration and asymmetry analysis. We present a fast MSP extraction method for 3D MR images, based on automatic segmentation of the brain and on heuristic maximization of the cerebro-spinal fluid within the MSP. The method is robust to severe anatomical asymmetries between the hemispheres, caused by surgical procedures a...

The introduction of the Mammography Screening Program (MSP) in 2005 has changed the early detection of breast cancer in Germany significantly. We analyzed the frequency and ensuing health care costs of mammograms performed for the early detection of breast cancer before and after the introduction of the MSP. Furthermore, we analyzed the influence of the MSP on the demographics of physicians (gy...

The marginal satisfiability problem (MSP) asks: Given desired marginal distributions DS for every subset S of c variable indices from {1, . . . , n}, does there exist a distribution D over n-tuples of values in {1, . . . ,m} with those S-marginals DS? Previous authors have studied MSP in fixed dimensions, and have classified the complexity up to certain upper bounds. However, when using general...

Rapid and accurate detection of Anaplasma marginale-infected cattle would enhance anaplasmosis control procedures and evaluation of vaccines. Current tests based on detection of antibodies in serum are not widely used for several reasons, including the occurrence of either false-positive or false-negative results. We evaluated binding of antibodies in serum to a subunit antigen isolated from A....

Anaplasma marginale is an intraerythrocytic rickettsial pathogen of cattle in which infection persists for the life of the animal. Persistent A. marginale infection is characterized by repetitive rickettsemic cycles which we hypothesize reflect emergence of A. marginale antigenic variants. In this study, we determined whether variants of major surface protein 2 (MSP-2), a target of protective i...