One can use light to tune certain materials from a trivial topological phase. A prime example of such materials, classified as Floquet insulators (FTIs), is epitaxial graphene. In this paper, we probe the phase transition FTI via efficiency and work output quantum Otto Stirling heat engines. maximum/minimum in or invariably signals point. Furthermore, both engines’ are markedly robust against p...

Comparison of the malaria parasite and mammalian protein prenyltransferases and their cellular substrates is important for establishing this enzyme as a target for developing antimalarial agents. Nineteen heptapeptides differing only in their carboxyl-terminal amino acid were tested as alternative substrates of partially purified Plasmodium falciparum protein farnesyltransferase. Only NRSCAIM a...

During isometric contractions, no true work is performed, so the force-time integral (FTI) is often used to approximate isometric work. However, the relationship between FTI and metabolic cost is not as linear. We tested the hypothesis that this nonlinearity was due to the cost of attaining a given force being greater than that of maintaining it. The ATP consumed per contraction in the human me...

Tubulointerstitial fibrosis is a major feature of chronic kidney disease. Unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) in rodents leads to the development of renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis consistent with histopathological changes observed in advanced chronic kidney disease in humans. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of inhibiting angiotensin II receptors or Ras activation on earl...

Muscle produces force by forming cross-bridges, using energy released from ATP. While the magnitude and duration of force production primarily determine the energy requirement, nearly a century ago Fenn observed that muscle shortening or lengthening influenced energetic cost of contraction. When work is done by the muscle, the energy cost is increased and when work is done on the muscle the ene...

Farnesyltransferase inhibitors (FTIs) are a class of oral anti-cancer drugs currently tested in phase I-II clinical trials for treatment of hematological malignancies. The in vitro effects of various FTIs (alpha-hydroxyfarnesylphosphonic acid, manumycin-A and SCH66336) were tested on CD34+ KG1a cell line and in primary acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells from 64 patients. By cell viability and c...

Destruction of tumor cells is a key function of lymphocytes, but the molecular processes driving it are unclear. Analysis of signal molecules indicated that mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/extracellular regulated kinase 2 critically controlled lytic function in human NK cells. We now have evidence to indicate that target ligation triggers a Ras-independent MAPK pathway that is required ...

Although farnesyltransferase inhibitors have shown promising activity in relapsed lymphoma and sporadic activity in acute myelogenous leukemia, their mechanism of cytotoxicity is incompletely understood, making development of predictive biomarkers difficult. In the present study, we examined the action of tipifarnib in human acute myelogenous leukemia cell lines and clinical samples. In contras...

The aims of this study were to analyse body composition, to detect the presence of undernutrition, and to establish a relationship between undernutrition and the biological markers routinely used as indicators of nutritional status in hemodialysis (HD) patients (pts). We used a body composition monitor (BCM) that expresses body weight in terms of lean tissue mass (LTM) and fat tissue mass (FTM)...

Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS) is a rare genetic condition associated with mutations in the LMNA gene. This disease recapitulates some aspects of normal aging, such as hair loss, thin skin, joint stiffness, and atherosclerosis. The latter leads to heart attack or stroke that causes death at an average age of 14.6 years in children with HGPS. The typical LMNA mutation results in the...